Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People facts for kids
The Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People, located just south of Klamath, California, is a federally recognized tribe of Yurok people.
Their reservation is entirely surrounded by the Yurok Indian Reservation.
In 1938, the US government purchased 228 acres from a man named Augustus Resighini. This land became a reservation in 1939. In 1975, members formed a tribal government that was approved by the Secretary of Interior.
Name
The Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People changed its name from Resighini Rancheria in 2024. Pulikla means "downriver people." Previously, the tribe had been named Coast Indian Community of Yurok Indians of the Resighini Rancheria.
Tribal government
The tribal government was formed in 1975 and is headquartered in Klamath, California. They are governed by a democratically elected, five-member tribal council. The general membership serves on boards, committees, commissions, and corporations to assist the tribal council.
The current Tribal Council is as follows:
- Chairperson: Fawn Che-gere Murphy
- Vice Chairperson: Moonchay Kari Dowd
- Secretary: Frank Spa-ghe Dowd
- Treasurer: Rhonda Dowd
- Councilmember: Kathy Dowd
In 2003, the Resighini Rancheria established a tribal court to oversee criminal offenses as well as regulatory procedures regarding fishing and wildlife.
Cultural life
Resighini Rancheria tribal members participate in traditional dances, such as the Brush Dance, as well as the Jump Dance and White Deer Skin Dance.
The Brush Dance is a ceremony held to heal a sick child or to pray for a long, healthy life for the child. Families come together around a dance pit, beginning on a Wednesday, where the medicine doctor, the child, and the child's family begin. Actual dancing begins on Thursday evening with two dances. Both females and males dance.
The Jump Dance, revived in 1984, lasts for 10 days. The dance is held to prevent sickness, to bring happiness, and to restore balance in the universe. The dancers wear elaborate outfits, dentalia shell necklaces, a deerskin skirt, and they carry a Jump Dance basket in the right hand.
The White Deerskin Dance is generally held around the same time as the Jump Dance. Canoes are used to transport dances. It seems dancers carry poles with deer heads draped by deerskins. This dance provides protection to the people. This dance was also recently revived.
Tribal members also engage in traditional storytelling and traditions of gathering seaweed, mussels, and other marine resources for basket making and subsistence fishing for salmon, trout, eel, and other species.
Population
A resident population of 36 persons was reported during the 2000 census. The 2020 US Census showed a slight increase, with a population of 39.
Education
The ranchería is served by the Del Norte County Unified School District.
