Fellowship Farewell from Ysabelle Yrad
By Ysabelle Yrad, WCOA Fellow at Blue Lake Rancheria
Outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. as part of the West Coast Ocean Tribal Caucus D.C. delegation during Capitol Hill Ocean Week.
During my fellowship at Blue Lake Rancheria, I grew various skills while working on beneficial projects for the Tribe, as well as increased my understanding of coastal and marine development considerations on the U.S. west coast. Additionally, I continually promoted Tribal sovereignty and the priorities of Blue Lake Rancheria at multiple forums. I humbly witnessed the value in and responsibility of engaging with Tribal Nations on development topics. This includes Indigenous leaders and Tribal representatives having a seat at the decision-making table. However, there are still multiple development topics which spread Tribal expertise and decision-makers thin, as well as different complex processes to abide by or understand. Thus, I learned some of the prerequisites for greater Tribal representation and understanding of Tribal rights in coastal and marine issues, which is a major take-away from my fellowship.
I expanded my skills in project management, writing and presenting, and improved my understanding of west coast concerns while working on multiple projects during my fellowship. I helped coordinate the inaugural Humboldt Aquaculture Symposium and currently lead a task for Blue Lake Rancheria’s Tribal Cultural Landscapes Assessment involving interviews with Tribal members. These projects require skills in transparent communication and adaptability, as well as offering new professional relationships and humbling experiences to hear from local and Tribal perspectives. Additionally, I appreciated utilizing my writing skills on practical assignments. This included co-authoring a white paper on the feasibility of port electrification, summarizing potential grants and writing grant proposals, as well as briefs or talking points to prepare for discussions related to proposed offshore wind on the west coast. I learned how to review information to bring to the attention of Tribal staff and leadership, gauge interest, or respond on next steps. For instance, Tribal interest to engage on offshore wind topics can be in conflict with limited staff capacity. During my fellowship, I helped track offshore wind engagement opportunities and promote topics for advocacy relevant to the Tribe’s concerns. I also traveled and represented the Tribe in eleven in-person conferences or meetings related to offshore wind, including the West Coast Ocean Tribal Caucus’ delegation to DC in June. Furthermore, I had opportunities to present work being pursued at the Tribe, such as leading a public hearing and presenting on various project updates at Blue Lake Rancheria. I also presented on port electrification and the value in implementing greener port strategies at a harbor district public board meeting. I am extremely grateful to build new skills while benefiting the Tribe’s priorities and outreach across various coastal and ocean topics.
Walking the trails at Sue-meg State Park in Humboldt County, CA after a recent trip to Blue Lake Rancheria to present on ongoing department projects during the annual General Council meeting.
A major take-away from my fellowship is the practice of recognizing self-determination in any discussion about development. The inherent rights of self-determination ultimately means freedom for Tribal Nations (in the context of the U.S. west coast) to carry out systems of decision-making as a sovereign body, especially in cases where languages, livelihoods, territories, cultural resources, and other values need to be safe guarded by external conflicts. This includes the right to freely decide on economic development opportunities which may impact a Tribal Nation. I’ve witnessed some of the challenges in exercising self-determination during my fellowship - for external groups engaging with Tribes, this may mean requiring a deliberate action to create processes within their own governance or decision-making to legally and ethically protect Indigenous self-determination. Additionally, it can also mean greater participation by Tribal leadership, representatives, and their supporting experts on topics of development which concern the Tribe’s interests. Both examples require thoughtful time and evaluation, for which everyone has limited capacity to achieve. Therefore, this fellowship has strengthened my desire to grow my understanding of coastal and marine policy in order to create greater Tribal inclusion in decision-making. Further, I want to continue to elevate different instruments of Indigenous rights (not just the right to self-determination) as it relates to coastal and ocean uses.
This fellowship helped expose me to west coast policy and science, as well as provide opportunities to interact with multiple interest groups, organizations, governments, industries, and academia. During my fellowship, I was also able to participate in a professional development course on coastal climate resilience and a community of practice opportunity related to the development of a pre-apprenticeship program with the Tribe. I am truly grateful to continue working on grant-funded, cross-sector projects at Blue Lake Rancheria’s Sustainability and Resilience department after my fellowship formally ends. I also intend to continue following the work of the Alliance, Tribal Caucus, and individual members.
Ysabelle (middle) and Blue Lake Rancheria staff visiting the Port of Long Beach container terminal after meeting with representatives of the port.
Thank you to Heidi Moore-Guynup, Maddy Hunt, Bill Matsubu, Councilmember Jason Ramos, as well as the leadership and staff at Blue Lake Rancheria for your guidance and championing this work. Special thanks to Blue Lake Casino and Hotel for warm accommodations during periods of my in-person duties. Finally, I express my immense gratitude to the West Coast Ocean Alliance, the Tribal Caucus and Offshore Wind Working Group, as well as my family and friends for their support of my fellowship.
