Yurok Tribe Closes Reservation to Non-Residents

This is a press release from the Yurok Tribe:

The Yurok TribeThe Yurok Tribal Chairman Joseph L. James has issued an emergency closure order of the Yurok reservation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic effective immediately on April 4, 2020, pursuant to the Yurok Constitution, Article IV, Section 1 (g). The Yurok reservation will be closed to non-residents however, essential tribal government employees, authorized vehicles and essential services will continue to have access. State highways will still be open to through traffic. This order has been issued to protect reservation residents’ health, safety, and welfare.

Signed by authority of Yurok Tribal Chairman

Joseph L. James

Yurok Tribe employee Frankie Myers hosted a live stream on his Facebook page last night to “discuss the Yurok Tribe’s efforts to protect our community during this time of uncertainty”:

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13 Comments
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Mike
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Mike
3 years ago

so, are they not going to travel off the reservation? Or does it just work one way?

rick
Guest
rick
3 years ago
Reply to  Mike

good,stay on your damn res and dont come use our resources! [edit]

Alf
Guest
Alf
3 years ago

It would be good for other places to follow suit. Mckinleyville residents should stay there and close to non residents, Arcata, Eureka, Fortuna, Rio Dell, Scotia, Redway, Garberville, etc should all do the same. But I doubt that will happen.

Obliviously
Guest
Obliviously
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

So you’re saying Costco and Winco all of a sudden should tell their customers from all over the county to piss off?

Cat thomas
Guest
Cat thomas
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

Yes I agree but yes that’s probably not gonna happen. Like your thought.

Obliviously
Guest
Obliviously
3 years ago
Reply to  Cat thomas

Not my thought at all. I think it is xenophobic.

Kym Kemp
Admin
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

How would the Hoopa Store feed everyone in the valley? That’s just the first of my questions on how that would work.

I live in Salmon Creek. The nearest grocery store is essentially a mini mart. Do I shop only there? And how long would the supplies hold out if everyone in my area was shopping there? And what would Eureka stores do with all the fresh fruits and vegetables that they had ordered to fill the baskets of their customers that live outside of Eureka.

And are rural folks doomed to pay the higher prices of remote stores? How will the county help those poor folks trying to stretch their dollars in large box stores like Winco and Costco if they are forced to shop in Phillipsville, Orick and Trinidad?

Alf
Guest
Alf
3 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

I guess the stay at home and shelter in place orders are not very serious? This particular article is about the Yurok closing to nonresidents. That means as a nonYurok resident I wouldn’t be able to shop in their Weichpec or Klamath stores. This article only makes sense if Yurok residents are not allowed to shop outside of Yurok lands. Here’s why… if they come to other parts of the county to shop, the risk of contact with the virus is no different than me, a healthy individual going to Yurok stores and shopping. It can’t possibly be any more clear.

Some commentators will take this as racism, but it is just common sense, nothing more. The less exposure the better. Tribal officials have made it clear they don’t want anyone from outside to come in. It should work both ways. The Yurok and Hoopa tribes need to make their decisions with these thoughts in mind.

North west
Guest
North west
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

Thahr she blows Watch for the spouts. It’s easy to see which way the wind is blowing

King richard
Guest
King richard
3 years ago
Reply to  Alf

The problem at Klamath is the campgrounds. Refugee’s from Washington and other places had filled up campsites and were overflowing into any wide spot. This is also why CA parks closed.

Mountain Man
Guest
Mountain Man
3 years ago

So exactly what are they closing ?

Mike
Guest
Mike
3 years ago

Hoopa store can’t feed them, that’s the point, is it not oddly self serving to say that no one can come onto your land while knowing that you’ll have to travel off your land to get virtually all the things required to survive? Its kinda a do as I say and not as I do scenario. It’s not okay to go there and cough because their safety, but it’s fine the other way around?

Marlon
Guest
Marlon
3 years ago

Have you heard what happened on the Navajo Reservation? It is a massive piece of land, with thousands of square miles and never enough police to patrol it all. When the virus threatened cities, many people with money fled to the reservation, where they cleared the shelves of all the essentials, just as the people were doing back home. That left the Navajos with not enough toilet paper to wipe their own asses on their own homelands. They were basically invaded. Again.

The problem with many reservations, and this is especially true with the Yurok Reservation, is that they actually do not own or control the majority of their land. They do not have jurisdiction over that non-Yurok-owned land, and they do not have jurisdiction over the non-Yurok people who live there. It’s a matter of federal law that the US Supreme Court forced on all tribes. So they really cannot tell non-Indians what to do on the reservations. No jurisdiction. The best they can do temporarily is to tell invaders they will be sent packing, not as a matter of criminal law, but as a health and safety precaution, which they are hopefully allowed to do. It’s a grey area.