California plots return of 7.5 million acres of land and coastal waters to Indigenous tribes

California is making waves with a jaw-dropping plan to settle a 175-year-old score — handing back a staggering 7.5 million acres of land and coastal waters to Native tribes.

That’s 7% of the Golden State — and not by accident. It matches exactly what the federal government promised indigenous tribes back in the 1850s, before quietly backing out.

When California became a state in 1850, officials signed 18 treaties setting aside millions of acres for tribal reservations.

Congress killed the deals in secret after pressure from state leaders. Many tribes had already moved, trusting the promises.

Now California wants to make good.

The new Tribal Stewardship Policy lets tribes reclaim land, co-manage public spaces and return to sacred sites. It also revives long-banned practices like controlled burns, a technique experts say is critical for stopping wildfires.

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State officials call it both moral and practical. Indigenous land management could help save communities and ecosystems as fires rage and drought worsens.

More than 1.7 million acres are already under tribal stewardship through reservations, partnerships and previous land returns.

The 7.5 million-acre goal would expand that dramatically, though no timeline has been set.

Advocates cheer the step but warn it is only a start. Many agreements still limit what tribes can do with the land, and some require negotiating with state agencies.

Other states are returning land too. New York, Washington, Oregon and Minnesota have made moves, and a federal program returned nearly 3 millions acres before ending in 2022. Still, California’s plan dwarfs them all.