Wiyot National Parks

The Wiyot National Park Service is an agency of the Wiyot Tribe within the Dishgamu Community Land Trust. This service manages a number of conserved sites that the Tribe is working to develop amenities and infrastructure for public use.

Digawututklh (pronunciation)

 350 acres of ancestral lands on the Samoa Peninsula with open dunes, an extensive coastal forest, seasonal wetlands and estuarine habitats hosts an array of rare plants and provides a home for the region's wildlife. 

Digawututklh provided for Wiyot people, and Wiyot people cared for it. Plants like huckleberries that grow there were tended by Wiyot people, and the dunes protected the villages from harsh weather and provided shelter. This place has traditionally been used for food harvesting, such as clams and surf fish. It was also a ceremonial place where the Red Woodpecker Dance was held. Now that the land has been returned, these cultural practices can return. Digawututklh was also part of a vast traditional transportation system. This village was a place where people came from the north to catch redwood dugouts to get to other locations such as Tuluwat, Jaroujiji, and other sites.

Mouralherwaqh (pronunciation)

A 46-acre parcel near present day King Salmon and what is marked on most maps as Humboldt Bay and is known to the Wiyot people as Wigi. 

There’s a rare stand of sedge and cattail wetlands and, slightly inland, mature Sitka spruce forests stand uncut. Mouralherwaqh will be restored for water quality, coastal habitat, sea-level rise adaptation, and cultural protection purposes.

Chwanuchguk

36 acres of Elk River Access property near Humboldt Hill to the Tribe. Traditionally Chwanuchguk was a fishing village where salmon, caught in the river, was dried. 

The Wiyot Tribe, partnered with Caltrout, will be assisting in tidal marsh enhancements to restore the river and assist with the restoration project which will include sediment remediation, salmon habitat rehabilitation, riparian habitat expansion, and tributary restoration. The project will also protect, expand, and enhance habitat, including native plant populations. The Tribe will be focused on an ecocultural restoration plan for the property that will include access for Tribal members for traditional cultural practices.

Yachwou’nuwach (pronunciation)

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Also known as Dandy Bills and the Wiyot Community of Indianola.

Dandy Bill purchased the land in 1873 for $250. He had the land surveyed and subdivided and sold those lots to other Wiyot people who returned from relocation (this was during the time period after the Massacres of 1860's and after the mass relocations out of the Wiyot Homeland). This reestablished a community stronghold for Wiyot people returning or remaining in their homelands which was essential to Wiyot survival. Local news reports describe a vibrant Wiyot community at Indianola, holding dances, residents sold blackberries, huckleberries, cod and clams. Indianola had its own baseball team. The Tribe purchased this Wiyot historic site in 2023, for the purpose of restoring this cultural and historic center dedicated to the life of Wiyot cultural hero Dandy Bill and the vibrant community of Indianola.

Wiyot Ecocultural Preserves

The Wiyot Ecocultural Preserve system is an agency of the Wiyot Tribe within the Dishgamu Community Land Trust. The system manages a number of sites that are working to protect the natural environment, flora, fauna, and preserve Wiyot Cultural practices. These sites have a reduced emphasis on human access.

Tvutgugu’w

In the early 1900s, a church group purchased 20 acres in the Eel River estuary for homeless Wiyot people. Wiyot people later transferred this land into trust status in 1908 with the federal government. This land now referred to as the "Old Reservation." In 1961, the California Rancheria Act terminated the legal status of the tribe, and the Wiyot effectively became non-Indians Indians. These lands were subject to individual allotment during that time period.

In 1991, in a lawsuit regarding the Old Reservation, the court mandated new land be purchased and the Tribe moved to the present 88-acre Table Bluff Reservation. The original 20 acres were put into fee simple ownership under individual families, but still are under the Tribe's jurisdiction as long as held in Indian hands. The two reservations are within one mile of each other.

A large portion of the original Old Reservation has been lost due to the impact of allotment. Sites were sold to non-native people. The Tribe purchased back one allotment to prevent further loss and to protect.

Rratga’niyaqh

Rratga'niyaqh was once a bountiful traditional fishing village, one of many villages along the Eel River. Rratga'niyaqh is also the historic site of the "Indian Town of Cock Robin Island." In 1869 a number of Wiyot people returned from relocation to Hupa, and negotiated to purchase 80 acres on Cock Robin Island. The land was subdivided for individuals families. They set aside a large portion of the property for a "City Garden." An additional 7.2 acres of land in 1877 by another group of Wiyot people. Wiyot people thrived in this community, living close to a traditional way of life, taking care of themselves, and retaining a community stronghold where Wiyot people could recover and thrive in their homelands. The Wiyot Tribe purchased back 40 acres of this historic site in 2013.

Tuluwat (pronunciation)

Tuluwat is a culturally and religiously important place for Wiyot people. It is considered the center of the Wiyot World, and the creation place of Wiyot People. It is also the somber location of a horrific massacre in 1860 which was carried out in the middle of the night. Women, elders and children were killed while sleeping during a break in the World Renewal Ceremony. After 140 years of displacement from the Island, Wiyot people regained access in 2000 when the Tribe purchased back 1.5 acres of the island and began implementing a ecocultural restoration plan to clean up the island. In 2004, the Eureka City Council made an unprecedented decision to return city-owned land next to the Tuluwat Village site to the Wiyot Tribe. In total, over 40 acres of land, including the remaining 4.5 acres of shell midden, were gifted to the tribe. The process took 14 years and culminated in the completion of the World Renewal Ceremony interrupted in 1860. Read more about the clean up project here. The Tribe received an Excellence in Site Reuse Award from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In 2019, the Eureka City Council transferred the remaining city-owned portion of Indian Island to the tribe. This portion of the island covers more than 202 acres. It hosts century-old cypress trees and includes another shell midden from the Wiyot village called Hetverroulh (pronunciation). Ecocultural restoration plans continue through out the island; the Tribe continues to work on the elimination of an invasive cord grass spartina, installing signage, and restoring the Tuluwat village site.