In February, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California bought more than 10,000 acres of land from the city of Santa Clara. It was land that the Washoe had originally settled and occupied. This is the first of many land-back purchases the tribe plans to make.
Traditionally, federally recognized tribes who want their land back have to wade through the U.S. government’s notoriously slow-moving bureaucracy.
“… Tribal leaders, especially, know that the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the BIA takes forever. And when it comes to land, it’s not just the BIA that goes through,” said Serrell Smokey, chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. “It has to go through all these departments within the federal government and get a check off saying ‘OK, this is ok to do.’”…