Native Americans in California have struggled for self-determination in land-use decisions since their first encounters with Europeans more than 300 years ago. Settler colonial policies by Spain, Mexico, and the United States have attempted to divorce Californian people from the land (Akins & Bauer, 2021). California is home to more Native Americans than any other state in the US (Judicial Council of California, 2021). Tribe members live on reservations that are allotted parcels of land owned by Native Americans. They were created by the US federal government to both incorporate Native Americans into white American culture and to limit their access to desirable land (Lofthouse, 2020). In California native lands illegal dumping of toxic waste is common.
Scope and scale of environmental degradation of the Torres Martinez Native reservation
