On a blustery morning last March, fog hung over the redwood covered hills surrounding ‘O Rew, a culturally significant place to the Yurok people. A mountain of ripped-up asphalt provided a stark reminder that this property just outside Orick, California, …
In a deep voice, Yurok Tribal chairman Joseph James began a traditional song. ‘O Rew, the Yurok name for the surrounding land, was about to make history. That day, Save the Redwoods League, Redwood National and State Parks, and the …
Rosie Clayburn is a dynamic leader with the Yurok Tribe of Northern California, the state’s largest Indigenous tribe. As the Yurok Tribal Heritage Preservation Officer and Cultural Resources Director, she advises on everything from land acquisition to the protection of …
Tom Little Bear Nason, chairman of Big Sur’s Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, describes his tribe’s long-standing relationship with redwoods. He’s working with the area’s non-native communities to integrate cultural burn strategies into land management practices that will protect the forest from catastrophic wildfires. The deep-seated respect for ancient redwoods has inspired Little Bear and his apprentices to share their traditional ecological knowledge of fire mimicry with the Big Sur community.
