Thanks to a new program in California, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel has regained ownership of 1,107 acres of ancestral tribal land in San Diego County, SFGate reported.
This August, INSY announced in a press release that it had received the land on the eastern side of the Volcan Mountains. The act was a part of a $100 million program meant to return land in California to the Indigenous tribes who historically managed it.
"This is coming from a place of understanding that the lands that we all live on have been managed and cared for by tribes, and that has been something that has been done since time immemorial," Geneva E. B. Thompson, deputy secretary for tribal affairs at the California Natural Resources Agency, told SFGate.
Thompson continued: "Our environment actually co-evolved with tribal practices, with tribal culture, ecological stewardship and tribal sciences. So through those historical wrongs and the disruption of tribal ecological knowledge, tribal stewardship and tribal care of these lands, we're actually seeing our land suffer."
Indeed, traditional land management practices support biodiversity and reduce the severity of wildfires, which are at the forefront of California's mind.
The University of California reported that some Indigenous peoples have actually used controlled, cultural burns to prevent wildfires. Fire isn't always dangerous; it can be a form of healing for the land.
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Burning areas selectively can prevent wildfires from happening on vulnerable land. It happens on a planned cycle, and it allows many Indigenous peoples to continue thriving on their land.
The return of INSY's oversight opens multiple possibilities for the land, which includes several types of natural forest and native grasslands. Endangered species found on the land include the golden eagle and the arroyo toad.
According to INSY's press release, it intends to open a cultural and educational center on the property called the Ewiinally Traditional Ecological Knowledge Center.
"The return of these 1,107 acres of Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel ancestral land is more than a restoration of territory, it is a restoration of identity, responsibility, and healing," said INSY Chairman Kevin Osuna.
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