A Six-Week Training Series on Protecting Indigenous Homelands
Hosted by Northern California Tribal Court Coalition
Funded by a generous grant from First Nations Development Institute’s California Tribal Fund
This six-week training series has now ended. You can access video recordings of the training and handout materials below.
- Session 1: History and Overview of Land Trusts (May 13, 2023)
- Session 2: Setting Goals and Structuring Your Land Trust (May 20, 2023)
- Session 3: Land Trust Registration and Legal Requirements (June 3, 2023)
- Session 4: Governing and Maintaining a Land Trust (June 10, 2023)
- Session 5: Funding Strategies (June 17, 2023)
- Session 6: Obtaining Interests in Land (June 24, 2023)
- Guest Speakers
- Staff
- Acknowledgements
- Post-Session Bonus Materials
SESSIONS
Notice: Each session will be recorded. By logging into the session you agree to be recorded and rebroadcast at a later date.
1
History and Overview of Land Trusts
MAY 13, 2023 at 11:00 am PDT
agenda
- Welcome: NCTCC Staff
- Opening Words: Hon. Richard Blake, Chief Judge, Hoopa Valley Tribe
- Speaker: Hawk Rosales, Ndé (Apache), Indigenous land defender and consultant
- Interactive conversation and questions
SESSION MATERIALS
Materials provided by Mr. Rosales
- Article: Indigenous Perspectives are Crucial for Conservation
- Document: Tribal Leader 30×30 Statement, May 6, 2021
- Article: The Tyree – I was alone in a canoe, but it was a magic canoe
- UN Policy Brief: Challenges & Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples’ Sustainability
- Booklet: TPL Tribal Lands Booklet, 2009
- Article: Protecting Ancestral Tribal Lands and Waters
- This article was authored by the Sinkyone Council to celebrate Indigenous Women Rising and published in February 2018 Cultural Survival magazine.
- Resources: Grant guidelines and resources for the California Natural Resources Agency’s Tribal Nature-Based Solutions Program
- Program site: Tribal Climate & Conservation Program, Native Americans in Philanthropy
- Program site: Indigenous Land Guardians Program, administered by Canadian-based Indigenous Leadership Initiative
bonus!
The Land Trust Alliance Resource Center generously offered all course participants a complimentary six month account. This offer is now closed.
2
Setting Goals and Structuring Your Land Trust
MAY 20, 2023 at 11:00 am PDT
agenda
- Welcome and announcements
- Summary from previous session: NCTCC Staff
- Panel:
- Curtis Berkey, Partner, Berkey Williams LLP
- Ted Griswold, Partner, Procopio and Founder, Native American Practice Group
- Interactive conversation and questions
session materials
Materials provided by Mr. Griswold
Materials provided by Mr. Berkey
Reference materials
- Video: Crooks, Kristen and Randy Cruthcer. Moderated by David Cobb. “Land Back: Wiyot Tribe Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust” Decolonizing Economics Summit: The Fourth Annual Post Capitalism Conference. April 22, 2023.
- FAQ: Gansworth, Leora Kristi and Ian Attridge. August, 2022. Indigenous-led Land Trusts: An Exercise of Self-Determination. Published by Conservation Through Reconciliation Partnership.
- Nonko, Emily. March, 2023. An Indigenous Community Land Trust Is Creating Housing Through # Land Back
- Article: Restoring Tribal Access to Land: A Menu of Options to Reestablish Cultural Access Rights
- Video: Foundation For Intentional Community. November, 2021. What is a Community Land Trust?
3
Land Trust Registration and Legal Requirements
JUNE 3, 2023 at 11:00 am PDT
agenda
- Welcome and announcements
- Summary from previous session: NCTCC Staff
- Panel:
- Ted Griswold, Procopio and Founder, Native American Practice Group
- Nicole Johnson, Board Secretary, Native American Land Conservancy
- Interactive conversation and questions
session materials
Materials provided by Mr. Griswold
Reference materials
- Steps to forming a 501(c)(3) organization
- Trust in the Land by Dr. Beth Rose Middleton
Resources from Land Trust Alliance (Account access only – sign up for an account below)
4
Governing and Maintaining a Land Trust
JUNE 10, 2023 at 11:00 am PDT
agenda
- Welcome and announcements
- Summary from previous session: NCTCC Staff
- Panel:
- Hon. Valentin Lopez, Chairman, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band; Chair, Amah Mutsun Tribal Land Trust
- Michael Madrigal, Board President, Native American Land Conservancy
- Robert Paull, Board Treasurer, Native American Land Conservancy
- Nicole Johnson, Board Secretary, Native American Land Conservancy
- Interactive conversation and questions
session materials
Reference materials
- Document: Amah Mutsun Land Trust Five Year Strategic Plan: 2014-2019
- Document: Land Trust Alliance Strategic Plan 2018-2022
- Toolkit: First Nations Financial Management Board Strategic Planning page
- Document: Karuk Natural Resources Department Strategic Plan
Resources from Land Trust Alliance (Account access only – sign up for an account below)
5
Funding Strategies
JUNE 17, 2023 at 11:00 am PDT
agenda
- Welcome and announcements
- Summary from previous session: NCTCC Staff
- Presentation:
- Julie Seelen, CFRE, Chief of Philanthropy, Sempervirens Fund
- Joann Devers, Director of Institutional Engagement, Peninsula Open Space Trust
- Presentation: PennElys Droz, Ph.D., Power Building and Curriculum Coordinator, NDN Collective
- Interactive conversation and questions
session materials
Reference materials
- Article: Native Americans in Philanthropy, What Can Philanthropy Learn From Indigenous Organizing During a Crisis. January, 2021.
- Press Release: California Announces Funding for Projects to Conserve Agricultural Land and Fight Climate Change
- Article: First Nations Development Institute, Native Fundraisers Community of Practice.
- Press Release: Governor Newsom Proposes $100 Million to Support Tribal-Led Initiatives that Advance Shared Climate and Conservation Goals
Grant Resources for Indigenous Lands Stewardship
- NDN Collective
- First Nations Development Institute’s California Tribal Fund
- Native American Agriculture Fund
- Native Americans in Philanthropy
- Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples
- Cultural Conservancy
- Liberated Capital Decolonizing Wealth Fund
- National Coastal Wetlands Grant
Land Trust Alliance Resources (Account Access Only – sign up for an account below)
6
Obtaining Interests in Land
JUNE 24, 2023 at 11:00 am PDT
agenda
- Welcome and announcements
- Summary from previous session: NCTCC Staff
- Presentation: Shelton Douthit, Executive Director, Feather River Land Trust
- Panel:
- Corrina Gould, Tribal Chair, Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation; Co-founder/Co-Director, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
- Johnella LaRose, Co-founder/Co-Director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
- Interactive conversation and questions
session materials
Materials provided by Mr. Douthit
Reference materials
- Video: Decolonizing Economics Summit. April, 2022. Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust.
- Video: Oakland gives land back to Indigenous Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. Mayor Libby Schaff. September, 2022.
- Website: Native Food Alliance
- Policy: Statement Of Administration Policy on Native American Ancestral Lands. Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, Sept. 25, 2020.
- FAQ: Question and Answers on Conservation Easements. Rensselaer Land Trust.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Hon. Richard Blake
Chief Judge, Hoopa Valley Tribe AND BOARD CHAIR, Northern California TRIBAL COURT COALITION
Hon. Richard C. Blake is a proud member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Judge Blake serves as Chief Judge for the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the Redding Rancheria, as Judge of the Tolowa Dee-ni Nation Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court, and as Appellate Justice for the Cow Creek Tribe.
Judge Blake is the founder and current Board Chairperson of the Northern California Tribal Court Coalition, which currently has a membership of six northern California Tribal Courts including the Hoopa Tribe, Yurok Tribe, Tolowa Dee-Ni Nation’, Trinidad Rancheria, Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria, and Karuk Tribe.
Judge Blake has served as the co-chair of the California Tribal State Forum. His vision resulted in the development of the Forum, now immortalized by California Rules of Court and formally recognized by the California Judicial Council in February 2016. Judge Blake remains involved in the California Tribal State Forum and also sits as a member of the California Federal-Tribal Forum.
Judge Blake was honored by the National American Indian Court Judges Association as the recipient of the 2014 Judicial Excellence Award. As a member of the National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), Judge Blake sits on committees within that organization and was named the 2016 “Innovator of the Year” by NCJFCJ.
Hawk Rosales, Ndé (Apache)
Indigenous land defender and consultant
Hawk is of Ndé (Apache) lineage. An Indigenous artist, land defender and student of nature, he works with Tribes and conservation organizations to design and implement initiatives that protect, restore and return Indigenous Peoples’ traditional lands and waters. From 1990 to 2021, he directed the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, a consortium of Tribes re-establishing traditional land tenure through cultural protection, education and advocacy. He coordinated acquisition of 1834 hectares (4531 acres) of Sinkyone land in Northern California for the first intertribal network of protected areas, and has designed and led numerous efforts to support ecosystem healing.
Hawk has written and co-produced documentaries on protection of Indigenous lands and waters. He co-led Tribal efforts in the process to establish a network of 124 marine protected areas (MPAs) along California’s coastline, and authored two law journal articles on the topic. He has co-developed several culturally focused conservation easements, and led numerous Tribal partnership endeavors with California State Parks. In 2013, Hawk was appointed by the Natural Resources Agency Secretary to serve on the Parks Forward Commission, formed to re-design California’s system of 279 state parks.
Hawk currently serves on California’s Expert Assessment Group for the Green List (EAGL), convened by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in partnership with Ocean Protection Council and Department of Fish and Wildlife, to evaluate the state’s MPA network. Hawk provides consultancy to Tribes, Tribal organizations and environmental NGOs in various areas of land and ocean protection work.
Curtis Berkey
Partner, Berkey Williams LLP
Mr. Berkey has represented Indian tribes and tribal organizations for more than 40 years, in cases involving land claims litigation, land recovery, water rights, cultural resource protection and environmental protection. He is the founding partner of Berkey Williams LLP, which represents Indian tribes and tribal organizations exclusively. He has taught adjunct courses in federal Indian law at the Catholic University School of Law; George Washington University School of Law: UC Berkeley School of Law; UC College of the Law School San Francisco.
Contact:
Berkey Williams LLP, 3750 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610
Ted Griswold
Partner, Procopio and Founder, Native American Practice Group
Ted counsels tribal clients on Native American governance, intergovernmental agreements, intertribal coalitions, alternative energy, protection of natural and cultural resources, tribal code and ordinance development, general welfare programs, tribal leasing, self-determination compacts and contracts, and tribal property recovery and remediation.
Michael Madrigal (Cahuilla)
BOARD PRESIDENT, Native American Land Conservancy
Michael is the current President of the Native American Land Conservancy. He is a member of the Cahuilla Band of Indians. He has dedicated much of his life to support efforts that protect and strengthen the traditional cultural and spiritual ties of tribal communities to their homelands. Increasing understanding of these original and ongoing relationships between Indigenous peoples and the land is key to the survivance and vitality of tribal communities. He is honored to have learned from many tribal elders and acknowledges these elders who have dedicated their lives to keeping Indigenous wisdom vital in our communities. Michael is currently a graduate student at the University of California, Riverside, in the Native American/Ethnic Studies Ph.D. program.
Hon. Valentin Lopez
Chairman, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band AND DIRECTOR, Amah Mutsun Land Trust
Valentin Lopez has served as Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band since 2003, and the President of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust since its inception. Valentin is a Native American Advisor to the University of California, Office of the President on issues related to repatriation. He is also a Native American Advisor to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Valentin is actively involved in efforts to restore tribal indigenous knowledge and ensure their history is accurately told.
Julie Seelen, CFRE
Chief of Philanthropy, Sempervirens Fund
Julie has more than a decade of experience working locally in the land trust community, including many years as the Development Director for Save Mount Diablo. More recently she was with California Trout and The Fund for People in Parks. She served on the Board of Directors for Las Trampas–an organization supporting adults with developmental disabilities–and holds an active CFRE fundraising credential. In her spare time, she wanders in redwood forests in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Julie has a Master’s degree in Architecture and Building Construction from the University of Technology in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Joanna Devers
Director of institutional engagement, peninsula Open space trust
Joanna joined Peninsula Open Space Trust as the Director of Institutional Engagement in February 2022, leading efforts to raise foundation, state, and federal funding. Prior to this role, Joanna was the principal of Devers Consulting, offering project development and grant writing services to nonprofits and public agencies throughout California. Her clients included Trust for Public Land, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Sempervirens Fund, and the City of Davis. As a consultant, Joanna helped her clients secure over $40 million of private and public funding. Joanna built her consulting business after over 20 years of land trust experience working in California and Mexico as a development, real estate, and executive management professional with the Big Sur Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy. She moved to Monterey, California in 2003 to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Joanna has served on the Board of Directors of the Monterey County Resource Conservation District and as a Monterey County Park Commissioner. She is a U.S.-born Colombian American who is fluent in Spanish.
PennElys Droz, Ph.D.
Power Building and Curriculum Coordinator, NDN Collective
Dr. PennElys Droz, Anishinaabe and mixed European descendent, is a mother of five, Power Building and Curriculum Coordinator with NDN Collective, and founding board member of Sustainable Nations, an Indigenous regenerative community development organization. She has worked in Indigenous engineering and regenerative development for over twenty years, with the vision of the re-development of thriving ecologically, culturally and economically sustainable Native Nations. She is a natural builder and lover of all things dirt, moss, lichen, and fungi.
Hon. Corrina Gould
Tribal Chair, Confederated Villages of the Lisjan Nation; Co-founder/Co-Director, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
Corrina Gould (Lisjan Ohlone) is the chair and spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan— she was born and raised in Oakland, CA, the village of Huichin.
Corrina is also the Co-Founder and Lead Organizer for Indian People Organizing for Change, a small Native run organization that works on Indigenous people issues and sponsored annual Shellmound Peace Walks from 2005 to 2009. As a tribal leader, she has continued to fight for the protection of the Shellmounds, uphold her nation’s inherent right to sovereignty, and stand in solidarity with her Indigenous relatives to protect our sacred waters, mountains, and lands all over the world. Her life’s work has led to the creation of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, a women-led organization within the urban setting of her ancestral territory of the Bay Area. Through the practices of rematriation, cultural revitalization, and land restoration, the Land Trust calls on Native and non-native peoples to heal and transform legacies of colonization, genocide, and to do the work our ancestors and future generations are calling us to do.
Johnella LaRose
co-founder and co-Director of Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
Johnella LaRose (Shoshone Bannock, Ute and Carrizo Tribes) is a lifelong activist. She is the Co-Founder of Indian People Organizing for Change, a grassroots organization that advocates for the Indigenous community. Johnella is a graduate of Mills College with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology.
Shelton Douthit
Executive Director, Feather River Land Trust
Shelton serving as Executive Director, Leads FRLT as it fulfills its land saving mission. Shelton works with the Board of Directors, staff and partners to move projects forward while ensuring the health of the organization and it’s key parts, the staff. Due to his 32 plus years managing fee-title and conservation easement transactions, Shelton also leads the Land Protection Program, working with landowners to permanently protect conservation values critical to the region and the nation. Prior to joining FRLT in 2015, Shelton worked as a consultant to the land trust community focusing on land protection and stewardship planning. He assisted land trusts across the west by managing transactions, providing due diligence and performing program assessments. Shelton and his team assisted with the protection of 175,000 acres of land primarily in the California desert from 2000 to 2015. Prior to serving as a consultant, Shelton served as a project coordinator and vice president of The Wildland Conservancy (where he assisted with the protection of over 500,000 acres of wild lands) and Executive Director of the Riverside Land Conservancy. Shelton started his 32 year career in the land trust community when he was hired by the Sempervirens Fund as their Field Coordinator/Volunteer Coordinator.
STAFF
Cynthia Boshell
PROJECT Director, Northern California Tribal Court Coalition
Cynthia Boshell (Mvscogee,unenrolled) was hired in January 2021 as Executive Director at Northern California Tribal Court Coalition (NCTCC). She has the honor of directing, administering, and working with grantors to fund NCTCC’s programs.
Cynthia holds a Juris Doctor degree with certificates of study in Native American Law and Sustainable Energy and Resources Law (University of Tulsa, 2015), a Master of Arts in Social Science (Humboldt State University, 2011), and a Bachelor of Arts in Native American Studies (Humboldt State University, 2011). She is licensed to practice law in Oklahoma.
You can view Cynthia’s Master’s thesis here.
Georgina Quinn
Project specialist, Northern California Tribal Court Coalition
Georgina Quinn is a recent graduate of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Native American Studies Department with an emphasis in Indigenous Natural Resource Management. She is currently serving as a Project Specialist with Northern California Tribal Court Coalition. Georgina has been working with Tribal communities around Humboldt and Butte county for the past four years through volunteering, education, and paid work. She believes that decolonization is the channel through which all peoples and the earth can heal and thrive.
In 2019, Georgina was hired by NCTCC to assist in developing and organizing the Restoring the Balance conference as part of the Rights of Mother Earth Initiative. During this project she performed outreach to experts in the various fields of Indigenous food sovereignty including traditional gatherers, producers, and policy makers. She has served intermittently as a volunteer at United Indian Health Services’ Potawot Community Food Garden from 2017 to 2022, and is cultivating a garden in her apartments. In the Fall of 2022, Georgina participated in the newly established Food Sovereignty Lab class, assisting in the development of an Indigenous garden and greenhouse.
Georgina is passionate about social and environmental justice, and loves building community through open discussion and transformative dialog. She grew up on Mechoopda Maidu lands but now resides in Wiyot territory. Her goal is to support Indigenous led movements wherever she resides and is especially interested in food processing, cooking, and land stewardship.
Merry Kate Lowry
Project specialist, Northern California Tribal Court Coalition
Merry Kate Lowry (Wyandot~ Anishinaabe) is a graduate of California Polytechnic Humboldt University (2005), the Teacher Credential Program and the Indian Teacher and Educational Personnel Program. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences Teacher Preparation, with Minors in Native American Studies and American Indian Education as well as earning a Multiple Subjects/Single Subject Teaching Credential.
Merry Kate’s first teaching position included participating in creating the American Indian Academy Charter High School. She taught Native American Studies/Social Sciences, independent study, and was teacher of record for Yurok Language. In addition to secondary grades, she taught 5th/6th, and then K-3 at the Weitchpec Elementary Yurok Magnet Program—the first part-time Native Language Immersion in a CA public school. As a curriculum/education specialist, she participated in the development of Native curriculum aligned with state standards for KTJUSD (K-3) and Save California Salmon (SCS). The SCS Water Advocacy curriculum (9-12th) was recognized by UNESCO Green Citizens and she also contributed to the recently released Traditional Ecological Knowledge curriculum (6th-8th grades) in partnership with Humboldt State University CalPoly Native American Studies department. Curriculum coaching for educators and Native STEAM/TEK presentations are Merry Kate Lowry’s passions integrating Native language into daily life.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NCTCC is grateful for the generous financial and in-kind donations that made this project possible.
First Nations Development Institute provided generous financial and technical support through the California Tribal Fund.
In addition to the program presenters listed above, the following individuals and organizations provided in-kind support, guidance, and professional expertise in the development of this program.
- Tiffany Jackson, graphic designer
- Native American Land Conservancy
- Raquelle Myers, National Indian Justice Center
- Forrest King-Cortez, Land Trust Alliance
- Denise Bareilles, California Indian Legal Services
- Dan Ehresman, North Coast Regional Land Trust
- Native American Rights Fund
- Nazune Menk, Environmental Law Clinic, UC Berkeley
- Megan Fluke, Green Foothills Land Trust
POST-SESSION BONUS MATERIALS
Download Using Land Trusts to Rematriate Indigenous Homelands: A Self-Help Guide. This publication contains considerations, strategies, and steps to guide you as you work toward rematriating your Tribal homelands.
Download Tribal Food Access Policy Guide, a useful reference guide for California Tribal members who practice hunting, gathering, and foraging on public and private lands and waters.
Download the Tribal Food Integrity Project Policy Process Guide to learn more about the policy-making process and actions you can take to shape your Tribe’s food policy.
Strengthen your knowledge of Tribal land trusts and Indigenous conservation. You can purchase Trust in the Land by Beth Rose Middleton Manning, or find it at your local library.