Big Sur tribe regains land 350 years after being removed

Big Sur tribe regains land 350 years after being removed:

In a deal rich with historic significance, the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County closed escrow to purchase 1,199 acres in Big Sur as part of a $4.5 million acquisition involving the state and an Oregon-based environmental group.

The purchase secures a property for the tribe slightly larger than San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Located along Palo Colorado Road on the north side of the Little Sur River about 20 miles south of Monterey and 5 miles inland from the ocean, the land features endangered steelhead trout, old-growth redwoods, oak woodlands and meadows along scenic ridge tops.

Most important, it represents the first time that the Esselen Tribe has regained any of its former territory more than 300 years after Spanish missionaries upended the tribe's society, causing 90% of the roughly 1,000 Esselen people by the early 1800s to die of disease and other causes. Simply put, the Esselens are landless no more.