I was reading through CalMatters Housing this morning and came across some important news about Native American advocacy in California. According to the reporting, thousands of people gathered on Alcatraz Island during Indigenous Peoples Day to commemorate a historic nineteen-month occupation that took place back in the late nineteen sixties and early seventies. That occupation was a powerful statement about federal policies affecting Native communities, and the island became a symbol of Native American resilience.
What caught my attention in this coverage is that current advocates used this observance to push back on some recent decisions by Governor Newsom. Specifically, they're frustrated about his vetoes of several bills that would have addressed real challenges facing California's tribal communities. One bill would have tackled tribal water shortages, another would have strengthened protections for religious practices and sacred sites, and a third would have created a program to address missing and murdered Indigenous persons.
The water issue is particularly significant because California's tribal communities face genuine hardship when it comes to water access. CalMatters also reports that sixty-two tribes in California still lack federal recognition, which limits their ability to protect sacred sites from damage caused by state and federal projects. Without that recognition and additional protections, tribes have fewer tools to safeguard what matters most to them.
Governor Newsom explained his veto of the missing and murdered Indigenous persons program by saying existing efforts already cover that ground. But tribal leaders and advocates clearly disagree with that assessment and believe more needs to be done.
What I am seeing locally in the Bay Area and throughout the East Bay is that land rights and resource access remain critical issues for indigenous communities. As someone who works with clients on property and development matters, I understand how important it is that all communities, including tribal nations, have a voice in how our region develops and what protections exist for their sacred places and access to basic resources like water.
