WélmeltiɁ Preserve returned to Washoe Tribe

What happened

The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California announced on a Wednesday in early February 2026, according to Native News Online, that it had completed the purchase of 10,274 acres of ancestral land in the Sierra Nevada. The article, bylined February 10, 2026, calls it the largest tribal land return ever completed in that mountain range and the third largest in California. The land, formerly Loyalton Ranch, lies northeast of Lake Tahoe and about 20 miles north of Reno.

The property will be known as the WélmeltiɁ Preserve and will be held by the Tribe's Waší·šiw Land Trust, which the Washoe Tribal Council established in 2025 to speed the repatriation of ancestral lands across the Tribe's traditional Sierra Nevada territory. The purchase was supported by the Northern Sierra Partnership, the Feather River Land Trust and the California Wildlife Conservation Board. High Country News reported that the state approved financial support in November 2025 to assist the Tribe in reacquiring the 10,274 acres of former ranchland.

Chairman Serrell Smokey said the land is part of who the Washoe people are and has been stewarded by them since time immemorial. Tribal leaders said the purchase is intended to support long-term cultural preservation, ecological stewardship and healing from historical trauma. In High Country News, Chairman Smokey said Washoe people were once forcefully removed from these lands and are now answering the land's call. Tribal officials said further details on future plans would follow.

Good to know. The preserve is held by the Waší·šiw Land Trust, set up by the Tribe. The price, seller and completion date have not been reported.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error