Blue Lake commissioners agree to draft a brief land acknowledgment and take it to city council

Blue Lake — The Arts and Heritage Commission on Nov. 10 agreed to draft a compact land acknowledgment recognizing the area as Indigenous territory and to seek public input before asking the City Council to adopt it.

Commissioner Sherry Green read an example drafted by Dell'Arte that begins, "We begin to acknowledge that Del Arte is part of is guest on the unceded and ancestral homelands of the Wiyap people," and recommended shortening the language for routine meetings. Commissioners said a shortened, heartfelt statement would be appropriate for meeting openings.

The commission voted to form language, circulate it for resident input via a survey and bring the recommendation to the City Council. The commission’s plan is to draft two-to-three sentences, include the item on a community survey, and return with results at the December meeting so the council can consider final wording. The motion to pursue that path was seconded and advanced for next steps.

Why it matters: Land acknowledgments are symbolic statements followed by many civic bodies; commissioners said the objective is to both honor local tribal history — specifically referencing the Wiyot people and the Blue Lake Rancheria — and keep meeting time manageable.

What’s next: Commissioners will prepare draft language, include it as a question on the survey the ad hoc committee will produce, and present the combined results to the City Council. The council will then indicate whether it wants the commission to finalize and implement the statement across meetings.