California Indian tribe gets back Big Sur ancestral lands

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AP ABC7

The Esselen Tribe of Monterey County closed escrow on 1,199 acres (485 hectares) about 5 miles (8 kilometers) inland from the ocean that was part of a $4.5 million deal involving the state and the Western Rivers Conservancy, The Mercury News reported Monday.

The land lies on the north side of the Little Sur River, where endangered steelhead fish spawn, and encompasses old-growth redwoods, oak woodlands and meadows.

"The property is spectacular, and on top of that it repatriates land to a tribe that has had a really hard go of it over the years," said Sue Doroff, president of the conservancy.

Known as Rancho Aguila, the property was put up for sale by the family of Axel Adler, a Swedish immigrant who bought it in the 1950s and died in 2004.

(Tom Little Bear Nason, chairman of the tribe) Nason said the tribe will build a sweat lodge and traditional village to conduct traditional ceremonies and teach the public about their culture. There will be no permanent homes or businesses on the land.