“The World Has Changed, and the Wiyot Changed with It:”
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“THE WORLD HAS CHANGED, AND THE WIYOT CHANGED WITH IT:” THE SOCIO-POLITICAL PROCESSES AND RATIONALE OF CULTURAL LANDSCAPE DECOLONIZATION ON WIYOT ANCESTRAL LAND By Mark Christopher Adams A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Social Science: Environment & Community Committee Membership Dr. Leena Dallasheh, Committee Chair Dr. Nicholas Purdue, Committee Member Mr. Kerri Malloy, Committee Member Dr. Mark Baker, Program Graduate Coordinator July 2020 ABSTRACT “THE WORLD HAS CHANGED, AND THE WIYOT CHANGED WITH IT:” THE SOCIO-POLITICAL PROCESSES AND RATIONALE OF CULTURAL LANDSCAPE DECOLONIZATION ON WIYOT ANCESTRAL LAND Mark Christopher Adams This thesis examines recent successful efforts by the Wiyot Tribe in Humboldt County, California to resist and reverse forms of settler-colonial oppression with tangible and unprecedented results. The original inhabitants of Humboldt Bay: the Wiyot, and their allies in the local community, have overcome settler socio-political resistance in three contentious, public disputes to preserve and restore tribal sovereignty over ancestral land and culture. While much has been written about the history of the United States as a settler-colonial project, more research is necessary to understand the processes of grassroots decolonization efforts to alter cultural landscapes. Using a combination of feminist and critical geographic theoretical methodologies, archival research, and qualitative interview methods, this thesis informs gaps in the academic discourse on decolonization, focusing on potential strategies that can be replicated elsewhere. The results of this research recognize a historical, legal, and moral justification for decolonization and an emphasis on reading cultural landscapes as an effective decolonization tool, seeking to analyze the Wiyot’s successes in ways that can illuminate tactical strengths and their potential use in future decolonization struggles. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Wiyot Tribe of the Table Bluff Rancheria without whose guidance, kindness, and gracious permission, this thesis would not have been possible. The tribe’s wisdom, values, and fortitude in regaining their rightful sovereignty and lands have inspired not only this thesis, they have inspired me as a geographer to focus on Indigenous perspectives within a larger context of improving the lives of all people, globally. Special thanks to Ted Hernandez, Cheryl Seidner, and Jessica Cantrell who have graciously given me hours of their time to ensure the Wiyot Tribe’s voice is paramount in this process. My committee members: Chair Dr. Leena Dallasheh,, Dr. Nicholas Purdue, and Mr. Kerri Malloy deserve the utmost credit for their expertise and my heartfelt thanks for their instruction in theory, methodology, and thesis writing, never letting me deliver anything short of my best work. You have helped and inspired me to transform into a more nuanced, effective, and critical-thinking human being. I must also recognize other key Humboldt State University faculty and staff for their important roles in my academic journey: Dr. Matthew Derrick for opening my eyes to landscapes and how to write like a geographer; Dr. Rain Marshall for introducing me to the injustices committed against Indigenous people in America; Peggy Stewart and Terri Fischer, E&C support staff who have always been there when I needed them. You have my eternal thanks. iii Finally, I cannot thank my partner Angie enough for her love, kindness, wisdom, and patience in this process, which was physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging to say the least. Her advice and comfort, as well as, her Indigenous roots in Humboldt County, helped tremendously to keep myself and my research grounded. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF APPENDICES .................................................................................................. viii INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Case Studies .................................................................................................................. 10 Positionality .................................................................................................................. 12 Chapter 1: METHODS ..................................................................................................... 15 Human Subject Interviews ............................................................................................ 19 Key Theoretical Framework: Landscapes .................................................................... 22 Key Theoretical Framework: Setter Colonialism ......................................................... 26 Chapter 2: SETTLER COLONIALISM IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY ............................. 32 Settler Colonialism Reaches Humboldt ........................................................................ 35 Early Settlement and Violence ..................................................................................... 38 Genocide Begins in Humboldt County ......................................................................... 42 The Indian Island and Eel River Massacres .................................................................. 51 Boarding Schools .......................................................................................................... 56 Legally Erasing Wiyot Land ......................................................................................... 58 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 3: RESULTS ....................................................................................................... 62 v Settler Interviews .......................................................................................................... 62 Wiyot Interviews ........................................................................................................... 69 Chapter 4: A DISCUSSION ON DECOLONIZATION PROCESS ................................ 74 Decolonization of Wiyot Land ..................................................................................... 74 Lessons Learned ........................................................................................................... 76 Direct and persistent action ....................................................................................... 77 Indigenous and settler coalitions ............................................................................... 81 A focus on landscapes ............................................................................................... 84 Education and settler support for decolonization ...................................................... 89 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 94 WORKS CITED ............................................................................................................... 97 Interviews Cited* .......................................................................................................... 97 Reference Works Cited ................................................................................................. 97 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of Wiyot Ancestral Land (Humboldt State University) .............................. 2 Figure 2. Tuluwat land transfers (North Coast Journal) ................................................... 79 Figure 3. Settler cultural identification ........................................................................... 104 Figure 4. Settler education .............................................................................................. 104 Figure 5. Settler case knowledge .................................................................................... 105 Figure 6. Settler understandings of settler colonialism ................................................... 105 Figure 7. Settler framings of settler colonialism ............................................................. 106 Figure 8. Settler perceptions of William F. McKinley ................................................... 106 Figure 9. Settler attitudes toward Indigenous people ...................................................... 107 Figure 10. Settler support for McKinley statue removal ................................................ 107 Figure 11. Settler support for decolonization ................................................................. 108 Figure 12. Settler support for the return of Tuluwat ....................................................... 108 Figure 13. Settler ideas of decolonization ....................................................................... 109 vii LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................