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Organization

Maidu Summit Consortium

Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.

The Maidu Summit Consortium, a Chester, California group of Mountain Maidu organizations, lists several ancestral land returns since 2019 and plans a park system.

Kind
Tribal-member nonprofit (501(c)(3)) land stewardship consortium
Native-led
yes-self-described
Works with
Mountain Maidu people and Maidu groups of northeastern California
Region
California; CA
Focus
Reacquisition and stewardship of Mountain Maidu ancestral lands (Tásmam Koyóm, Lake Almanor Maidu Forest, Maidu Trail; Land Back 2019)
Registry
EIN 27-1129385 (ProPublica: Maidu Summit Consortium, Chester CA, 501(c)(3))

What happened

The Maidu Summit Consortium (MSC) is a nonprofit based in Chester, California, in the Mountain Maidu homeland. ProPublica lists it under EIN 27-1129385, with tax exemption issued in February 2010. Its board page lists members by group, including Tsi-Akim Maidu, United Maidu Nation, Big Meadow Historical Preservation, Susanville Indian Rancheria, Maidu Cultural Development Group and the Roundhouse Council. Ben Cunningham is listed as chairman.

MSC's mission statement says it is "to preserve, protect, and promote the Mountain Maidu Homeland with a united voice." It says MSC envisions re-acquired ancestral lands as "a vast and unique park system" dedicated to education, healing, protection and ecosystem management based on Maidu cultural and philosophic perspectives.

Its home page lists "Historical Dates To Remember" for land: Land Back on September 20, 2019; Tásmam Koyóm on December 27, 2019; the Maidu Trail on March 5, 2020; the Lake Almanor Maidu Forest on March 24, 2021; and the Lake Almanor Maidu Wetlands on April 14, 2022. It also lists the first beaver conservation release in 75 years from state agencies to MSC property in October 2023, a first Maidu work crew in May 2024, and a property purchase in Westwood in November 2024.

The page gives no acreage, no seller names, and no description of the legal mechanism for each date.

Good to know. The land-return dates come from the Consortium's own list, which gives no acreage or details of each deal. Confirm the donation channel before giving.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. Our mission is to preserve, protect, and promote the Mountain Maidu Homeland with a united voice.Maidu Summit Consortium - Mission Statement
  2. envisions re-acquired ancestral lands as a vast and unique park systemMaidu Summit Consortium - Mission Statement
  3. Land Back - September 20, 2019Maidu Summit Consortium - Home
  4. Chairman: Ben CunninghamMaidu Summit Consortium - Board Members
  5. Tax exemption issued: Feb. 2010ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer - Maidu Summit Consortium

Research notes. The land dates come from MSC's own list; acreage, sellers and legal mechanisms were not stated, so the returns are not independently verified. Donation: the site's online donation links are PayPal buttons and checks go to MSC, PO Box 682 Chester; the vetting notes say a payment-processor placeholder was visible, so confirm the channel before giving. A listed cemetery item is deliberately not described.

Visit the organization’s website or give directly on its own page. This site takes no money.

Connections

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Works in 1

Sources

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The record’s fields
Vetting notes
2026-10-17: ProPublica hit (Chester CA). Own site lists board by Maidu group affiliation (e.g. United Maidu Nation, Susanville Indian Rancheria) and a land-return timeline. Donate page has no working online processor ("Set up a payment processor" placeholder visible); only checks payable to MSC, PO Box 682 Chester. So no online donation link; confirm channel before linking. Source: https://www.maidusummit.org/ ("We envision re-acquired ancestral lands as a vast and unique park system")
Kind
Organization
Confidence
Medium
Nation review
Not yet reviewed by this nation

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