The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, previously known as Smith River Rancheria, is a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Tolowa people The Tolowa people or Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethno-linguistic group. Two rancherias (Smith River and Elk Valley) still reside in their traditional territory in northwestern California. Tho ...

Del Norte County, California ), in California , seat_type = County seat , seat = Crescent City , parts_type = Largest city , parts = Crescent City , unit_pref = US , area_total_sq_mi = 1230 , area_land_sq_mi = 1006 , area_water_sq_mi = 223 , elevation_max_footnote ...

."Smith River Rancheria."
''SDSU: California Indians and Their Reservations.'' Retrieved 4 June 2012. They are

Athabascan Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific Co ...

people, distantly related to northern Athabascans of eastern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, as well as the

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

and

Navajo people The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

s of the American Southwest. As of the 2010 Census the population of this group was 113. Tolowa people are also part of other federally recognized tribes in northern California and Oregon.

Government

The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation is headquartered in

Smith River, California Smith River (Tolowa: ''Kaa-nvsh'') is a town and census-designated place in Del Norte County, California, located near the Oregon border. Smith River is the headquarters of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Tolowa people. ...

. They are governed by a democratically elected, seven-member tribal council. Their current tribal administration is as follows: * Chairperson: Jeri Lynn Thompson * Vice Chairperson: Scott Sullivan * Secretary: Debbie Boardman * Treasurer: Jaytuk Steinruck * Councilmember: Dr. Joseph Giovannetti * Councilmember: Amanda O'Connell * Councilmember: Dorothy Wait * Executive Director: Troy Ralstin

Reservation

The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation is a federally recognized tribe, which owns 805 acres of land on or adjacent to its reservation in Del Norte County, north of Crescent City. The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation was established in 1906; their land used to consist of only 30-acres. The nearest community is Smith River, while the nearest incorporated city is

Brookings, Oregon Brookings is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It was named after John E. Brookings, president of the Brookings Lumber and Box Company, which founded the city in 1908. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,744. History F ...

, about 10 miles to the north. In 1862, the US Government established the

Smith River Reservation Smith River Reservation was an Indian reservation on the Smith River, set aside April 9, 1862 by the Department of Indian Affairs to replace the Klamath River Reservation that had been destroyed by the Great Flood of 1862 and as a reservation fo ...

, which consisted of 16,000 acres and which was abandoned by the U.S. in 1868.

Economic development

The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (Smith River Rancheria) owns and operates the Lucky 7 Casino and Xaa-wan'-k'wvt Village Resort in Smith River, California."California Casinos - Indian Casinos by Tribe."
''500 Nations.'' Retrieved 4 June 2012.

Notable members

Eunice Bommelyn Eunice Xash-wee-tes-na Henry Bommelyn (February 6, 1927 – April 23, 2012) was an American Tolowa cultural advocate, Tolowa language proponent, and tribal historian. Bommelyn was the last living person to speak Tolowa as a native first language; ...

Tolowa language The Tolowa language (also called Chetco-Tolowa, or Siletz Dee-ni) is a member of the Pacific Coast subgroup of the Athabaskan language family. Together with three other closely related languages (Lower Rogue River Athabaskan, Upper Rogue River ...

proponent, cultural advocate, genealogist, and historian. *

Loren Me'-lash-ne Bommelyn Loren is a given name, nickname and surname which may refer to: Given name Men * Loren Acton (born 1936), American physicist and astronaut * Loren C. Ball (born 1948), amateur astronomer who has discovered more than 100 asteroids * Loren M. Ber ...

, linguist, educator, traditionalist, historian, genealogist, basket weaver *

Dr. Joseph Giovannetti Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

, professor, writer, lecturer, genocide expert, CSU Humboldt, Sports Hall of Fame, track & field *

Drew Roberts Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas ...

, CSU Humboldt, Sports Hall of Fame, football *

Jolanda Ingram Obie Jolanda or Jolande is a feminine given name. It is a Dutch, Italian, and Swiss German cognate of Yolanda. Notable people with the name include: ;Jolanda Jolanda Adams, Actress *Jolanda Benvenuti, Italian film editor *Jolanda Čeplak (born 1976), ...

, attorney *Ron James, carver

Notes

External links

Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation
official website * , Four Directions Institute {{authority control Tolowa Native American tribes in California Federally recognized tribes in the United States Del Norte County, California 1906 establishments in California Populated coastal places in California