Research Topic


   Reading about the native lands and the theft that took place by the US government made me grow an interest in studying the effects of government occupation on the native lands. For so many years I have wondered why the government would pick certain lands to build and profit on. As I dug deeper and further into history, I stumbled upon the Duluwat Island located on Humboldt Bay in the city of Eureka, California. This land was fruitful when in possession of the Wiyot people, it is surrounded by a body of water which supplied a substantial amount of water and minerals to the land. The Wiyot people owned this land for many years, but one day a tragic event occurred. In 1860, not too long after the California Gold Rush, European immigrants that settled in Eureka sought to take over the Duluwat Island. This led to a massacre of over 100 men, women, and children. The land was now stolen and occupied by the European immigrants.

    Furthermore, these immigrants violated the land by creating a shipyard repair facility that damaged and eroded parts of the land. The Wiyot people cared for this land for many years just to have the fruits of their hard work stolen from them. Not only was the land stolen, but the innocent Wiyot people lost their lives because of the greed of the Europeans. An event such as this will remain saddening, but in better news, the Wiyot people were given back their land by the Eureka city council in 2019. This meant they were able to occupy the land that is rightfully theirs and rebuild it. The shipyard caused havoc on the natural minerals and materials grown on this land, but the Wiyot people know this land best so they were able to control the erosion as well as the contamination. The damage caused by the Europeans will not be a quick fix, and the memories of those that lost their lives will continue to be heavy on the hearts of the Wiyot people. But justice always prevails. 

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