Returning Land Stewarded Since Time Immemorial
The Wášiw-šiw Land Trust is working to acquire ecologically and culturally significant landscapes at the convergence of the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin. These lands encompass forests, sagebrush, meadows, springs, and creeks, supporting a remarkable diversity of wildlife—from pronghorn and mule deer to beaver, sandhill cranes, and gray wolves that are just starting to return to the Northern Sierra.
The first property to be acquired will expand the Washoe Tribe’s ownership in the wélmeltiɁ homelands from 485 acres to more than 10,000 acres and allow for the long overdue return of Washoe People to a landscape their ancestors inhabited for millennia, until its members were forcibly expelled by European colonization in the mid-nineteenth century. This land contains significant archaeological evidence of wélmeltiɁ presence and supports abundant culturally important plants for the Washoe People.
By the Tribe,
For the Tribe
Susie Washoe with Seed beater
Washoe women grinding corn, Loyalton
Guided by a vision shaped by Tribal elders and members, the return of these lands will make it possible to restore the abundance of culturally important plants and wildlife, protect sacred sites, re-establish gathering places and ceremonies, cultivate and diffuse Washoe Ecological Knowledge, and nurture the well-being of Tribal youth through language, cultural, and lifeways programs.
Rabbit skin blanket
First Acquisition
Loyalton Ranch (10,274 acres)
Loyalton Ranch stretches from Sierra Valley in the west to Long Valley in the east, where the Sierra Nevada meets the Great Basin. A landscape of extraordinary beauty and wildness, the property boasts a rich variety of habitats, from conifer forests, aspen groves, pinyon pine, and juniper sage scrub to rocky crags, mountain meadows, springs and creeks. The property’s size, ecological diversity and adjacency to vast expanses of public land have made it a haven for wildlife. Thanks to a grant from California’s Wildlife Conservation Board and other key support, the Wášiw-šiw Land Trust will take ownership of this important property in January 2026.
Eastside by Elizabeth Carmel
Eastside Homestead Spring by Elizabeth Carmel
Pinyon pine, a traditional source of Washoe food,
on Loyalton Ranch, by Elizabeth Carmel
Future Acquisitions
The Washoe Tribe will continue to pursue opportunities to acquire, restore, and manage properties throughout the breadth of its vast Sierra Nevada homelands.
Red-tailed curious by Elizabeth Carmel
East Shore Sunset, Lake Tahoe by Elizabeth Carmel
Carson Pass Sunrise by Elizabeth Carmel
Carpenter Valley Elizabeth Carmel
Snow Patterns, Truckee River by Elizabeth Carmel