The driving force behind the recent land acquisition is Shelly Covert, Nisenan Tribal member and Spokesperson and Executive Director of the Tribally guided 501c3, HUŚWEJ (formerly the California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project). Through her different roles, Shelly works to preserve Nisenan Culture by teaching others about the Tribe’s history and supporting Nisenan members in their generational healing. The Nisenan history that Shelly is committed to bringing awareness to is one from the perspective of her Ancestors, which is often missing from history lessons. In the mid-1800s, the Nisenan people were forcibly removed from their Homelands by settlers in pursuit of gold. This loss of family and connection to the land was the start of a systematic erasure of Nisenan language, Culture, and identity. Eventually, reparation was delivered to some Tribes in the form of sovereign governance on reserved land.

For the Nisenan Tribe, this period of rebuilding came to an abrupt stop when their federal recognition was stripped in 1964. Without land or federal resources, the Tribe found themselves further fractured, making it even harder for members to gather, connect, sustain cultural practices, and build economic security. Shelly explains that these threats to Nisenan survival are still experienced by its members today, and HUŚWEJ is at the forefront of her plan to change that.

To help her Tribe reconnect with their heritage, Shelly and HUŚWEJ provide opportunities for members to access their Ancestral Homelands. Most recently, HUŚWEJ gained valuable experience on how to purchase land for the Tribe through the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program’s (SALC) Planning and Capacity Building Grants pathway. Shelly, was able to build knowledge and gain experience of the complicated world of land agreements through the program and HUŚWEJ’s SALC partner, the Bear Yuba Land Trust. With newly acquired confidence and a SALC Acquisition Grant, Shelly set off to find land to purchase that reflected the Nisenan Tribe’s vision and needs, which was not a simple task. That’s why it felt like magic to Shelly when a non-mined parcel of their Homelands was listed on the market.

On the property, the stream runs strong and clear and Nisenan petroglyphs still blanket the scattered boulders. The Tribe’s Ancestors walked these lands, and drank from these waters, and now their living Tribal family can do the same, writing their own Nisenan story along the way. Shelly recognizes that the journey to this point did not start with her own, but with those of her Ancestors and Tribal advocates that came before her.