California Tribes receive beach and ancestral village site back from transportation authority

Caltrans transferred 55 hectares of Mendocino County coastline, including the K'etim village site known to visitors as Blues Beach, to Kai Poma, a nonprofit formed by the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians. It is the first time Caltrans-held land has gone to Indigenous ownership, according to the nonprofit, following looting and off-road vehicle damage to archaeological sites that tribal members first flagged to the state back in 2005.

A 2021 law from state Senator Mike McGuire authorized the no-cost transfer, with conditions: the land stays open to the public free of charge, bars commercial development, and reverts to Caltrans if Kai Poma dissolves or fails to maintain it. The tribes now plan an archaeological survey they've held a grant for since 2023 but couldn't start without the deed, plus possible ceremonial and educational uses on the portion zoned for building.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.