CalTrans has owned parts of the land near Blues Beach on the North coast for decades. Now the state’s going to transfer ownership to Kai Poma, a nonprofit representing three local tribes.
Kai Poma Chairman, Eddie Knight, says his community will use the land to harvest food and medicine and hold cultural ceremonies.
"Nowadays it’s important for us to put that land back to use so that we can have the future generations know where they come from," says Knight.
The law requires the nonprofit to use the land for natural preservation and prohibits any use for gambling, which Knight says won’t be a problem.
"Why would we want to put a casino there?" Knight says. "We can’t help but laugh about it."
The land transfer is set to be finalized in the next two months. California’s returned just over 100,000 acres to native communities since 2024.