Graduation Date
Spring 2025
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources: option Environmental Science and Management
Committee Chair Name
Jennifer Marlow, J.D.
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Daniel Lipe
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Jo Carrillo J.D., J.S.D.
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Tribal sovereignty, Offshore wind, Self-determination, Sovereignty of the sea, California north coast
Subject Categories
Environmental Science and Management
Abstract
Proposed offshore wind development off California’s North Coast raises novel questions about Tribal sovereignty offshore. This project specifically engages claims, assuming the Yurok Tribe’s framing that offshore wind development poses a coastal hazard. The research followed a co-production framework. The research questions were co-designed with the Yurok Tribe and the research itself governed by a Data Sharing Agreement. The work presents findings from 13 semi-structured interviews with individuals and experts navigating sovereignty in the offshore wind space, including government representatives; lawyers; legal researchers; academics; foundation staff; journalists; and Humboldt Bay community members. Participants identified several key tensions surrounding claims of Tribal sovereignty offshore, including contradictions between colonial and Indigenous definitions of sovereignty; the lack of treaty rights protections to the ancestral waters of North Coast Tribes; and the lack of acknowledgement of Tribes as sovereigns in unceded waters offshore by federal regulators. Despite these tensions, this study finds that Tribal Nations have taken both legalistic and relational approaches to claiming sovereignty offshore. This study explores an unsettled area of law in that Tribal sovereignty in the context of offshore wind development is an emergent concept. Yet, this early stage of development poses a unique opportunity to recognize Tribal sovereignty offshore legally as well as relationally, where sovereignty is centered around relationships and shared decision-making between Tribal Nations and colonial governments.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Suarez, Alyssa, "Exploring coastal spaces of tribal sovereignty and self-determination in ancestral waters proposed for offshore wind development" (2025). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2291.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2291