Last week, AB 2218, authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, unanimously passed the California State Assembly, a move toward ensuring state water policy aligns with Tribal rights, stewardship, and justice. The bill seeks to address a water rights system that excludes Indigenous People as lawful water users, despite their longstanding role as the original stewards of California’s watersheds.
“Tribal Leaders recognize that California’s water rights system, based on the ‘first in time, first in right’ principle, purposefully disenfranchised the original water users,” said Russell “Buster” Attebery, Chairman of the Karuk Tribe. “This resulted in California Tribes losing access to their water, traditional foods, and culture. We believe that healthy rivers and restored fisheries are inseparable from Tribal sovereignty in water governance.”
As California faces growing climate-driven challenges, policymakers and communities increasingly recognize that equitable and sustainable water management must incorporate Tribal rights, traditional ecological knowledge, and Tribal governance. AB 2218 directs state agencies to strengthen consultation with Tribes during water rights investigations and develop policies that address water related harms resulting from state-sanctioned termination, removal, and assimilation of California Native American tribes.
“My tribe was displaced from our ancestral villages along the Sacramento River and Delta waterways, but we have not and will not abandon our role as guardians of the water,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. “It is imperative for state policy to recognize and repair the harms tribes have suffered. State agencies should protect our water uses and ensure that tribes receive just compensation for the destruction of our lifeways.”
Read the full press release from the Karuk Tribe here.
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