'Paying to Pray' in Northern California: Potential Beach Access Fees Threaten Tribal Practices

A controversial California State Parks proposal may result in local tribes having to pay to access traditional sites along the coast in Sonoma County north of San Francisco, according to Reno Franklin, tribal chairman of the Kashia Pomo at Stewart’s Point Rancheria.

“The way it stands right now, if the proposal goes through without any tribal consultation, it will mean we will have to pay to pray at sites we have had free access to for all these years,” Chairman Franklin told ICTMN. “Five of the eight beaches slated for the new charges are within our aboriginal area. One of them is the center of our universe, and one of them has a burial.”

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/05/03/paying-pray-northern-california-potential-beach-access-fees-threaten-tribal-practices