Yurok Tribe restores 125 acres and opens ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway near Orick

The ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway opened to the public on Aug. 1 in Orick, Calif. The gateway is part of a large land restoration project and serves as a central place for multiple connecting trails. After 13 years of restoration, 125 acres of ancestral land were transferred back to the Yurok Tribe in June.

Tania Estrada Rodriguez, interpretation manager for the Yurok Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department, emphasized what this project means to the community.

“It’s an opportunity for the Yurok tribal membership to really see themselves reflected in a space,” Estrada Rodriguez said. “For the longest time frame, there have been state and national parks with a bunch of signage that has reflected somewhat, Yurok history, and other tribes within this region, but it never spoke about the history or the culture through the perspective of the tribal membership.”

Within the Gathering Place, the surrounding area close to the parking lot, visitors are able to look at interpretive signs that feature Yurok language, culture and connecting trail information.

Land Back

For decades, the property was used as a ranching and sawmill site. Save the Redwoods League (SRL), a non-profit that works to restore California redwood forests, bought the land in 2013, according to Sara Press, senior manager of land protection at SRL.

Over the course of a decade, extensive restoration took place in collaboration with the Yurok Tribe, Redwood National and State Parks, and other organizations. Having ‘O Rew in the hands of the Yurok Tribe is part of a larger need for Indigenous people to have sovereignty within their ancestral lands.

“What we do impacts the land and the land impacts the health of our communities,” Press said in an email interview. “So having the land cared for by people who have done so for generations and generations provides the opportunity to bring back a healthy landscape for all of us to enjoy.”

Future work

The Yurok Tribe and partners continue land and habitat restoration within the area and plan to create a cultural center as a space for people to come together. The Yurok Tribe is currently fundraising for the development of the center and other restoration work.

The ‘O Rew Redwoods Gateway is open to the public from sunrise to sunset every day. For more information, visit yuroktribe.org/o-rew.