How a Tribe Mixed Public and Private Dollars to Buy Back Sacred Land
The key to winning philanthropic funding was framing the project as advancing nature and wildlife conservation goals as well as social justice outcomes.
By Rasheeda Childress
Senior Editor, Fundraising
July 13, 2026 | Read Time: 4 minutes
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Serrell Smokey, chairman of the Washoe Tribe, reveres the pinyon pine, an evergreen tree that is sacred to his culture. He hopes to reinvigorate the pine trees on 10,000 acres his tribe acquired this February in the Sierra Valley region of California, north of Lake Tahoe.
The Washoe tribe has inhabited the region for hundreds of years but lost ownership of the land to European settlers. Tribe leaders have long wanted to buy back a portion of the land but were unsure what opportunities would be available or how to fund them.
A mix of public and philanthropic funding turned out to be the answer. The tribe purchased the tract using grants from foundations and the state of California, and some small individual donations. Key to winning philanthropic funding was framing the project as advancing nature and wildlife conservation goals as well as social justice outcomes by returning land to Native people.
In recent years, several tribes have launched “land-back” efforts, which aim to return lands to Native Americans to preserve or restore to their natural state, so indigenous animals can flourish and cultural practices can be reborn.
“The cultural historic preservation for us is huge,” says Smokey, “because there’s remnants of Washoe people all over these mountain ranges, throughout the entire Sierra Valley. We want to ensure that [our practices] are protected as well as taking ownership of the land.”
Seeking private donations for such efforts is an unusual approach, according to Smokey, because indigenous causes are not on the radar of many philanthropists. Yet different types of funders joined forces, says Lucy Blake, president of Northern Sierra Partnership, a coalition of conservation nonprofits that helped the tribe raise the money it needed.
“This was a chance to match private dollars with public dollars to do something really big,” Blake says. In the process, the effort showed how to bridge persistent gaps between the needs of Indigenous communities and the priorities of grant makers.
How the Washoe Attracted Private Support
Blake helped make introductions and connect the tribe to donors and foundations that had helped other tribes repossess land in their historic regions. The tribe and Blake framed the project as both a land-back and a conservation project, Blake says, which opened the door to foundations that support large-scale land conservation to benefit wildlife.
The tribe established the Waší·šiw Land Trust to accept private donations, and supportive funders spread the word to other foundations, Blake says. “There was a lot of good will.”
The head of the March Conservation Fund, Ivan Samuels, says he was keen to participate in a land-back project, and the cultural restoration benefits made the project even more appealing.
“This opens up a whole new opportunity for the Washoe people to restore not just stewardship of the land, but a cultural presence and restoration of practices on the land,” Samuels says.
The Spaht Family Foundation also supported the project. “We hope this project encourages more philanthropy to consider land return as a meaningful form of environmental, cultural, and economic justice,” says Claire Spaht, co-founder of the foundation.
Samuels notes that the project wasn’t an automatic hit with all conservation funders. “There are funders out there that are looking at it from the standpoint of recreation and what’s in it for me,” he says. Some donors may be “used to funding projects that ultimately result in another 60 miles of mountain bike trails, … which are a big deal around Lake Tahoe,” Samuels says. But those donors are in the minority, he says. “Most folks are realizing the bigger value and vision around what we’re doing here.”
More Fundraising, Bigger Plans on the Horizon
The tribe now proudly owns the land and has named it the Wélmelti Preserve.
Over all, $6.9 million was raised to purchase and maintain the land; a big chunk, $5.5 million, came from the state grant.
The tribe plans to raise more money to restore the land from fire damage and overgrazing and bring back the pinyon pines.
The trust currently has a $450,000 stewardship endowment, designed to ensure property taxes can be paid, but it plans to raise more money for long-term upkeep — and even acquire more land. Its fundraising will continue to emphasize the winning combination of causes the project advances: conservation of nature and wildlife, cultural preservation of Native Americans, and the promotion of social justice.
Ultimately, the tribe hopes to establish a preserve of more than 20,000 acres and is actively seeking more land, Blake says. “We have a lot of work to do, but those kinds of opportunities don’t come along that much.”
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