Learning resources
Understanding the history of the Sierra Foothills and the Nisenan people who have stewarded these Lands since time immemorial is essential to honoring truth, acknowledging harms, and working toward healing.
The truth of physical and cultural violence enacted upon California’s Indigenous peoples during the gold rush - including upon the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe - is not represented in our collective history. To see the full picture, we must turn to Indigenous stories that reveal the impact of colonization, the resilience of Native communities, and the ongoing efforts to preserve Culture and sovereignty.
By learning the true history, we not only broaden our understanding but also gain a sense of responsibility to support Indigenous rights, healing, and justice.
To more deeply understand Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan history, Culture, and experience, we invite our supporters to explore the following resources
Nisenan History & Visibility
This collaborative film created with the Yuba Water Agency and South Yuba River Citizens League explores the impact of the gold rush on the Nisenan People and their fight to save their Culture
As part of 2023 Nisenan Heritage Day, CHIRP (the Tribe’s nonprofit) hosted “Changing Perspectives.” The event included a presentation by Megan Renoir exploring the ethics of collaboration and research between academia and Indigenous communities.
Historian Benjamin Madley discussed his groundbreaking book, An American Genocide, which meticulously documents the California government’s active role in genocidal policies against Indigenous populations. He and Tribal Spokesperson Shelly Covert also discuss the direct impact and violence experienced by the NCR Nisenan Tribe.
Photo historian Jordan Reznick presented their current research examining how Indigenous ecological science shaped nineteenth-century landscapes. Through examination of landscape photographs from colonial expansion to the West, Reznick teases apart the vastly different perceptions of the land as seen through settlers and Indigenous lens, challenging narratives that frame these landscapes as “untouched wilderness.”
The "Erased" exhibit at ‘Uba Seo: Nisenan Arts & Culture (now housed virtual) unveils the hidden history of the Nisenan Tribe during the gold rush - a period that brought devastation to Indigenous communities yet is often overlooked in mainstream narratives.
Erased Timeline at ‘uba seo
Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe members and CHIRP's Research and Archival Intern held an open conversation regarding the history of the Tribe, their known historical connections to Cornwall, the relationship between their political struggle and international support for recognition of this history, and their ideas for moving forward in collaboration with institutions such as the Royal Cornwall Museum and international universities.
Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribal Chairman Richard Johnson's ATTN: video received more than 11 million views between the U.S. and Canada. While Canada is further along in the process of Truth and Reconciliation between settlers and the First Nations Tribes, the US is finally stepping into the conversation. It all starts with knowing.
This ten-minute film, produced by the Sierra Streams Institute, explores the untold history and experience of the NCR Nisenan Tribe, as well as Chinese immigrants, during the gold rush. It also details the devastating impact of gold mining upon the Land, which can still be seen today.
Sierra Streams Institute: Rush For Gold
Fight for Federal Recognition
To understand more about the NCR Nisenan Tribe’s ongoing legal battle for recognition, watch this insightful interview with Tribal Spokesperson Shelly Covert, the Tribe’s lawyer Frank Lawrence, and Geoff Eido of the Lunacy podcast, where they discuss the complexities of the case and the challenges faced along the way.
The VICE article highlights the struggles of the Nisenan, the Indigenous People of the Bear Yuba Watershed. During the 1960s, the U.S. federal government terminated their tribal recognition, stripping them of legal status and resources. This erasure was part of broader termination policies aimed at assimilating Indigenous communities. You can also listen to the accompanying podcast here.
Nisenan Art, Culture, & Storytelling
Land & Nisenan Culture
This video gives a glimpse into the importance of Intergenerational Culture sharing. This is the traditional way information was passed from generation to generation for thousands of years. Here Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Council members Sarah Thomas, Saxon Thomas and baby Natalie Thomas allow us to take part in this ancient exchange between generations; the ancient melding and morphing with the present; echoing forward and back with each pound of the stone.
An interview with Richard Johnson, Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribal Chairman with KVMR News Magazine, in which he details Nisenan Cultural practices related to preparing for winter.
Tribal Spokesperson Shelly Covert joined California State Parks PORTS Distance Learning Program at the South Yuba River State Park in Bridgeport, CA to discuss the NCR Nisenan’s Tribe’s connection to the Yuba Watershed, the Tribe’s spiritual understanding of the land, animals, and plant kin as living family, and the deep medicine and benefits of connecting with the Land.
Nisenan & Ancestral Homelands
Homeland Return
After a tremendously successful grassroots campaign, the NCR Tribe and CHIRP fundraised over $2.5 million dollars to purchase the Nisenan historic village site called Yulića and escrow finally closed in September 2024 following a lengthy negotiation with local government, the sellers, and county code enforcement. The rematriation of Yulića provides a tremendous potential for stability and healing for the Tribe, the environment, and the fabric of the Sierra Nevada foothills community.
This webinar featuring Cassandra Ferreira (Director of Center for Ethical Land Transition) and Frank Lawrence (pro-bono attorney for California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project) discusses the history of the NCR Nisenan Tribe’s loss of federal recognition and access to their Ancestral Homelands, how the Woolman Quaker community engaged the land transition through a spiritual and ethical framework, and the tremendous opportunity for healing presented in the Homeland Return campaign.
Homeland Return: CapRadio Insight Interview
Shelly Covert, Tribal Spokesperson for the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe and Executive Director of CHIRP was interviewed on CapRadio's "Insight with Vicki Gonzalez." Shelly provides an update on the next steps with the Homeland Return of Yulića.
You can find more press articles and interviews related to Homeland Return here
Land, People & Environmental Justice
A fifteen-minute video exploring the connection of the Nisenan People to their Ancestral Homelands of the Sierra Foothills, including interviews with representatives of the Nevada City Rancheria and the Colfax Rancheria, as they fight to save the Bear River and Nisenan sacred cultural sites from the development of the Centennial Dam.
We Are Here: Bear River People vs Centennial Dam
In this ten-minute video, Tribal Spokesperson Shelly Covert speaks to the NCR Nisenan Tribe’s perspective on environmental justice and sustainability, including shifting our understanding of Land and plant and animal-kin as living-beings, and engaging environmental healing through a collective, intersectional approach.
Whole Earth: Caring for the Land
Recommended Reading
Books
Written by Nevada City Rancheria Tribal Chairman, History of Us explores the history and Cultural stories of the Nisenan People, their land-based practices and relationship to abundance of the Bear and Yuba watersheds, the impact the gold rush, the establishment and subsequent illegal disbandment of the Nevada City Rancheria, and the current state of fight for federal recognition.
by Richard B Johnson
Madley’s groundbreaking work reveals the often-overlooked history of state-sponsored violence against California’s Indigenous people during the gold rush. His research illuminates the systemic violence and displacement that shaped California’s early development.
by Benjamin Madley
Collaborative Articles
Megan Renoir, PHD
CDA Collaborative Learning
Samantha Steindel-Cymer, MA
Aleena Church, MA
Iona Swift, BA
