InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council

Description

The InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council is a tribal nonprofit consortium of ten federally recognized Northern California tribal nations.

It works to re-establish tribal peoples’ relationship with their traditional Sinkyone territory. Its focus includes acquiring and protecting land and water, restoring coastal forest and marine ecosystems, advocating for traditional cultural land and water rights, and delivering culturally informed environmental education. It also runs traditional cultural events and recreational programs.

The council was formed in 1986 by member tribes including the Cahto Tribe of Laytonville Rancheria, the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Round Valley Indian Tribes, among others. It has acquired and now stewards lands such as the Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness on the Lost Coast of Mendocino County, the nation’s first intertribal wilderness, and Tc’ih-Leh-Dun, a tribal protected area of cultural significance. It works with nonprofit and governmental partners on returning Indigenous lands and autonomy to Indigenous communities. It operates in Mendocino and Lake counties in Northern California.