5/5/26, 2:47 PM
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Public Comment- Special Meeting of the City Council May 6, 2026 From Richard Bruce <[email protected]>
Date Tue 5/5/2026 2:35 PM
To Cityclerk Trinidad <[email protected]>
Regarding Resolution 2026-04; Approval of Partial Settlement Agreement with the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community
of the Trinidad Rancheria and Authorization for Mayor to Execute Agreement I am unable to attend the Special Meeting of the City Council on May 6, 2026 but please accept these public comments for the record.
I am totally in favor of the Council adopting Resolution 2026-04 and appointing the Trinidad Rancheria to the Tsurai Management Team. The Trinidad Rancheria is an integral part of the Trinidad community and deserves to participate in the resolution of issues surrounding the Tsurai Study Area and the eventual transfer of the property from City ownership to tribal interests. Do not let either the Yurok Tribe or the Tsurai Ancestral Society prevent the Rancheria from participating in this process. On numerous occasions the Trinidad Rancheria has contributed to the betterment of the Trinidad community and demonstrated their willingness to maintain coastal access for the general public.
Please adopt Resolution 2026-04.
Dick Bruce- 50 year resident of Trinidad
780 Underwood Drive
Trinidad 95570
Virus-free.www.avg.com
YUROK TRIBE
190 Klamath Boulevard • Post Office Box 1027 • Klamath, CA 95548 Phone: (707) 482-1350 • Fax: (707) 482-1377
May 5, 2026
Via e-mail ([email protected], [email protected]) Mayor Cheryl Kelly
City of Trinidad, Trinidad City Hall
409 Trinity Street
Trinidad, CA 95570
Re: Cease and Desist Unconstitutional Action; the City of Trinidad has no legal jurisdiction and/or legal authority over Native American tribes or affairs; Dear Mayor Kelly,
The Yurok Tribe writes the City of Trinidad (“City”) requesting that the City cease and desist its unlawful conduct of considering and adopting unconstitutional findings of fact and an unlawful resolution recognizing and granting certain cultural and lineal rights to the Trinidad Rancheria, expressly contradicting federal plenary power over Native Americans.
We call on the City of Trinidad to respect the sovereignty and the rights of the Yurok Tribe to determine its own people, kin and descendants. We also demand that the City not consider or adopt its proposed Resolution No. 2026-04 which is based on an illegal contract wherein the City makes findings of fact without Congressional intent or authorization regarding the Trinidad Rancheria, to the detriment of the Yurok Tribe.
As the Yurok Tribe has previously explained to the City, only the federal government has jurisdiction regarding Native American tribes and Native American affairs. The City of Trinidad is encroaching into federal jurisdiction with its Findings of Fact contained in the proposed Partial Settlement Agreement (“PSA”) and proposed Resolution No. 2026-04, to the Yurok Tribe’s detriment. The City will be acting unlawfully by interfering with the Yurok Tribe’s inherent rights of self-governance, cultural sovereignty, and tribal sovereignty if its specially called city council meeting on May 6, 2026 considers the PSA and Resolution.
The City has not demonstrated good faith towards the Yurok Tribe in this matter. Initially, the Yurok Tribe had to demur to the City’s lawsuit because the City disrespected the Yurok Tribe’s sovereign immunity. The City, as well as its officials personally, will again be demonstrating disrespect to the Yurok Tribe and exceeding their legal jurisdiction, ignoring tribal authority, and violating federal rights without Congressional authorization by considering and/or adopting Resolution 2606-04. The Yurok Tribe will no longer tolerate this disrespect.
As the Yurok Tribe discussed with you and Mayor-elect Kenny earlier this year, state and municipal actions have no legal force or effect regarding Indian tribes. The City has merely inserted itself and interfered with intertribal relations by doing so. Only the United States Congress has that authority, and Congress must clearly and explicitly intend to abrogate tribal sovereignty or diminish a tribal right when taking rights away from Native American tribes. See Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 (1831); Inyo County v, Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Colony, 538 U.S. 701 (2003); Tohono O’Odham Nation v. State of Arizona, 804 F.3d 1288 (9th Cir. 2015). When the City considers taking any action regarding the assertions of both the Yurok Tribe and the Trinidad Rancheria regarding cultural affiliation, tribal interests or lineal/lateral descendants of Tsurai Village, the City is taking actions not expressly intended or authorized by the United States Congress. Should the City persist, the City will knowingly be unconstitutionally overstepping its legal authority to the Yurok Tribe’s detriment.
The May 4, 2026 posting of this May 6, 2026 special City Council meeting agenda, where the City is proposing adopting findings of fact bestowing cultural rights on the Trinidad Rancheria to a village in Yurok Ancestral Territory, and a proposed resolution bestowing rights on the Trinidad Rancheria at the Yurok Tribe’s expense, was quite a surprise. The Yurok Tribe must question the sincerity of the City’s “consultation” earlier this year as just an exercise for its mayor and mayor-elect to go through the motions and check the box of “meaningful consultation”.
As Vice Chairperson of the Yurok Tribe, I must demand that you immediately cease and desist from considering and/or adopting Resolution 2026-04 which encroaches on federal jurisdiction over the Yurok Tribe. The proposed Findings of Fact contained in the PSA as well as the proposed Resolution exceed the City’s legal authority and unlawfully benefit of the Trinidad Rancheria at the Yurok Tribe’s expense.
The Yurok Tribe will have no option but to take further action against the City in federal court if this cease and desist letter is ignored and Resolution Number 2026-04 is considered and/or adopted on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. The Yurok Tribe will defend its sovereignty, cultural identity as well as its tribal heritage from any unlawful municipal overreach and interference.
Sincerely,
Rose Sylvia
Vice Chairperson
JOAN M. GALLEGOS
__________________
Family Law
Civil Litigation
GALLEGOS LAW FIRM
931 Third Street
Eureka, California 95501
Telephone: (707) 441-8477
Facsimile: (707) 441-8479
PAUL V. GALLEGOS
___________________
Civil & Business Litigation
Commercial Cannabis
Compliance
Criminal Defense
May 6, 2026
Sent by email to Mayor Cheryl Kelly at [email protected] and through the City Clerk of the City of Trinidad at [email protected] and hand delivered to Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt personnel at 825 5
th Street, Eureka, California 95501 for delivery to Judge Timothy Canning
Mayor Cheryl Kelly
City of Trinidad, Trinidad City Hall
409 Trinity Street
Trinidad, CA 95570
Re: Request to Cease and Desist — Proposed Resolution No. 2026-04 Dear Mayor Kelly,
I was informed of the City’s intent to consider and adopt proposed Resolution No 2026-04 (hereafter referred to as “Proposed Resolution”) on May 4, 2026. Because of other commitments I was unable to prepare a response until now.
On behalf of my clients, the lineal descendants of the inhabitants of the Tsurai Village, I join in Yurok Tribe Vice Chairperson Rose Sylvia’s (hereafter referred to as “Vice Chairperson Sylvia”) position in her May 5, 2026, letter to the City of Trinidad (hereafter referred to as “City”) and request that the City place the Proposed Resolution off calendar and refrain from adopting it in its current form. I make this request on the following grounds: (1) The Proposed Resolution purports to determine, recognize, or confer tribal status, tribal rights, or authority over Native American affairs and that is governed by federal law and is not within the City’s power to adjudicate or bestow and any local action that intrudes into an area occupied by federal authority is preempted and unenforceable; (2) The Proposed Resolution asserts as established fact matters that are disputed and, in some instances, directly refuted by sworn deposition and trial testimony in the pending litigation involving the City and the Tsurai Ancestral Society and a public body should not adopt formal findings that lack substantial evidentiary support or that disregard the administrative and judicial record available to it through counsel; (3) The City should not adopt a resolution that functions to manufacture or bolster the Trinidad Rancheria’s evidentiary position in ongoing litigation, particularly where the City’s prior policies and position papers are already being cited as purported proof of contested lineage and cultural claims and Government action taken for an improper purpose, or in a manner that is arbitrary or capricious, is subject to judicial challenge and potential invalidation; and (4) Municipal action that effectively pits tribal communities and lineal descendants against one another, or that interferes with intertribal relations and cultural interests, raises serious legal and equitable concerns and should be avoided absent clear lawful authority and a sound evidentiary basis.
As referenced in Vice Chairperson Sylvia’s letter, federal preemption over municipal actions involving Native American tribal rights is a well-established principle in federal Indian law. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority to regulate commerce with Indian tribes under the
GALLEGOS LAW FIRM
931 Third Street
Eureka, California 95501
April 22, 2026
Mayor Cheryl Kelly
GALLEGOS LAW FIRM
931 Third Street
Eureka, California 95501
Indian Commerce Clause. This authority has been interpreted to preempt state and municipal actions that interfere with federal and tribal interests. For example, in White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 (1980), the U.S. Supreme Court held that state jurisdiction is preempted if it interferes with federal and tribal interests, even in the absence of explicit congressional intent. The Court emphasized that ambiguities in federal law must be resolved in favor of tribal independence. White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 (1980).
Similarly, in Cabazon Band of Mission Indians v. Wilson, 37 F.3d 430 (1994) the Ninth Circuit reiterated that state authority is preempted when it conflicts with federal and tribal interests, and no express congressional statement is required for such preemption. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians v. Wilson, 37 F.3d 430 (1994). Municipal authority is further limited by federal statutes and regulations that protect tribal sovereignty and cultural rights. For instance, 25 USCS § 5123. prohibits federal agencies from promulgating regulations that classify, enhance, or diminish the privileges and immunities of federally recognized tribes relative to one another. 25 USCS § 5123.
Additionally, 28 USCS § 1360 restricts state and local governments from regulating tribal property in a manner inconsistent with federal treaties, statutes, or regulations. 28 USCS § 1360. Therefore, because the Proposed Resolution purports to determine, recognize, or confer tribal status, tribal rights, or authority over Native American affairs and that is governed by federal law and is not within the City’s power to adjudicate or bestow and any local action that intrudes into an area occupied by federal authority is preempted and unenforceable we believe the Proposed Resolution can and does only serve one purpose – to bolster the Trinidad Rancheria’s (hereafter referred to as “Rancheria”) argument that they have any claim the Tsurai Study Area and/or have members that are lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village.
The concern that the Proposed Resolution furthers nothing other than bolstering the Rancheria’s claim is further supported by the fact that the Proposed Resolution asserts as established fact matters that are disputed and, in some instances, directly refuted by sworn deposition and trial testimony (including sworn testimony from the Rancheria’s experts) in the pending litigation involving the City and the Tsurai Ancestral Society. Transcripts of the sworn deposition and trial testimony are available to the City. Therefore, we respectfully request that you and your fellow council members review the sworn deposition and trial testimony of the various experts (including sworn testimony from Rancheria’s experts). I assert further if you look at the record in this matter you will see that the proposed established facts in the Proposed Resolution are not supported and/or are refuted by sworn testimony and that the Rancheria’s primary evidence of descendancy from the Tsurai Village has been created by the City. Specifically, the Rancheria asserts that evidence of its claims to the Tsurai Village are established by Policy 69, and the City’s position paper. The City’s Proposed Resolution, which is both unsupported by the evidence and unlawful, is another act by the City to provide the Rancheria with evidence which they will assert establishes as fact that which they have no evidence of, to wit: descendancy from the Tsurai Village.
It is our position that it is, or should be, axiomatic that a public body should not adopt formal findings that lack substantial evidentiary support or that disregard the judicial record available to it through counsel. We also assert that the City should not adopt a resolution that functions to manufacture or bolster the Trinidad Rancheria’s evidentiary position in ongoing litigation, particularly where the City’s prior policies and position papers are already being cited as purported proof of contested lineage and cultural claims. We believe further that, because the Proposed Resolution can only have one purpose, to bolster the Rancheria’s claims, the City’s actions are April 22, 2026
Mayor Cheryl Kelly
GALLEGOS LAW FIRM
931 Third Street
Eureka, California 95501
being taken for an improper purpose, or in a manner that is arbitrary or capricious, is subject to judicial challenge and potential invalidation.
On behalf of my clients, the lineal descendants of the inhabitants of the Tsurai Village, I also wish to state our agreement with Vice Chairperson Silvia assertion that the City’s current conduct and its conduct over the years demonstrates the City’s bad faith towards and disregard for the rights of the Yurok Tribe and its members. I also assert my client’s belief that the City’s current conduct and its conduct toward the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village over the years also demonstrates the City’s bad faith towards and disregards for the rights of the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village.
We believe further that the City’s conduct establishes that, while the City gives lip service to respecting the Yurok Tribe and the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village, the City places its economic interests over the cultural rights of the Yurok Tribe and its members and the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village. We believe that to further its economic interests the City has pitted the Yurok Tribe and its members, the Rancheria and its members and the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village against each other by holding Native American cultural resources as a prize to award to one or other at the expense of the other. While this tactic of pitting Native American against each to divide and weaken them, disrupt intertribal alliances and/or relationships is deeply rooted in our history toward Native Americans has proven successful, we believe that City’s conduct raises serious legal and equitable concerns and request that the City reconsider its behavior and cease in its interference with and disruption of intertribal relations and work toward creating a new relationship with the Yurok Tribe and the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village based on respect and trust. The City can do this by both recognizing and respecting the Yurok Tribe’s knowledge of the history of its people, its territory, its villages, and of who resided in and descended from those villages including, in this instance, the descendants of the Tsurai Village; their knowledge of who they are and where they are from; the integrity of their representations and their spiritual beliefs; by honoring the City’s past commitments to them such as transferring the TSA and including the Yurok Tribe in Policy 69; and by ceasing and desisting in the City’s Proposed Resolution which, because it cannot lawfully bestow rights on the Trinidad Rancheria at the Yurok Tribe’s and the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village’s expense, merely further works to pit the Yurok Tribe and its members, the Trinidad Rancheria and its members and the lineal descendants of the Tsurai Village against each other.
Sincerely,
GALLEGOS LAW FIRM
Paul V. Gallegos
cc: clients
1903 21st Street, 3rd Floor T 916.442.9444 HOBBSSTRAUS.COM Sacramento, CA 95814
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA | ANCHORAGE, AK | CLINTON, NY May 6, 2026
Honorable Cheryl Kelly
Mayor, City of Trinidad
409 Trinity Street
Trinidad, CA 95570
Re: Partial Settlement Agreement and Proposed Resolution No. 2026-04 On behalf of my client, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria (Trinidad Ranchera), I write to express the Trinidad Rancheria’s support for the Partial Settlement Agreement and proposed City Council Resolution No. 2026-04 and to dispel false assertions made by the Yurok Tribe against the agreement, the resolution, and the City of Trinidad (City).
The City holds title to approximately 12.6 acres of property known as the Tsurai Study Area (TSA), within which is located a significant tribal cultural resource – a portion of the historic Tsurai Village in which the last residents of the Village resided. In the late 1970s, to better protect the site and cultural resources, the City adopted a General Plan (“Policy 69”), which provides that “[t]here shall be no disturbance, vegetative removal or construction . . . on lands designated as Open Space within the [TSA] without the approval of the lineal descendants of Tsurai, Trinidad Rancheria, City of Trinidad, and the State Historic Preservation Officer.” In 2007, the City adopted the Tsurai Management Plan (TMP) and has worked with the Tsurai Management Team (TMT) since then on matters relating to the TSA and implementation of the TMP.
The current members of the TMT are the City, the Conservancy, the Yurok Tribe, and the Tsurai Ancestral Society (TAS). For that entire period, almost 20 years, the TMT has met in secret and not followed the open meeting requirements set forth in the Brown Act (Gov. Code § 54951 et seq.), about which the City Council has raised concerns. In addition, for this entire period, the Trinidad Rancheria, whose reservation lands are located next to the TSA, has been excluded from the TMT despite the City’s Policy 69. For approximately 15 years, the Trinidad Rancheria has requested to join the TMT, but it has not been permitted to do so.
In 2018, the City filed Action No. DR 180684 against the TAS, the Yurok Tribe, the California State Coastal Conservancy, and the Trinidad Rancheria seeking declaratory relief to resolve controversies regarding the rights and obligations of the parties related to the management and ownership of the TSA. In 2019, the Trinidad Rancheria filed a CrossComplaint in Action No. DR 180684, in which the First Cause of Action seeks declaratory relief Honorable Cheryl Kelly
May 6, 2026
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA | ANCHORAGE, AK | CLINTON, NY to resolve a controversy as to whether the Trinidad Rancheria should and can be added to the TMT and allowed to attend and participate equally in meeting of the TMT.
The City has vigorously argued that the TMT is an advisory committee of the City to help guide the City’s management of the City-owned TSA, and that the City has the right, under state law, to determine membership of the committee. Although the City Council has twice adopted motions to permit the Trinidad Rancheria to participate as a member of the TMT, those motions were not carried out because the Yurok Tribe and the TAS objected. The Trinidad Rancheria’s First Cause of Action argued that the City had unlawfully delegated its authority to determine the membership of the TMT to the Yurok Tribe and TAS. Before the City Council is a Partial Settlement Agreement that will resolve that controversy and address longstanding exclusion of the Trinidad Rancheria through the City’s exercise of its right under state law to appoint the Trinidad Rancheria to the TMT. The Trinidad Rancheria will then dismiss its First Cause of Action.
Contrary to its baseless assertions, the Yurok Tribe has no inherent sovereign right to determine the members of a City advisory committee, nor is there any federal statute that grants the Yurok Tribe the power to dictate what parties serve on a City advisory committee. The Yurok Tribe’s argued legal position finds no support in the federal court decisions cited therein.
Further, the City need not seek congressional authorization to appoint members to a City advisory committee, nor is congressional authorization required for the City to appoint a federally recognized Indian tribe to a City advisory committee. The claim that the City is barred from making factual findings in support of a City Council resolution is an affront to the City’s legislative powers. Notably, the TMT guides the City’s management of City-owned real property.
The Yurok Tribe, which was dismissed from Action No. DR 180684 upon its motion and exercise of sovereign immunity from suit, opposes the City’s and Trinidad Rancheria’s Partial Settlement Agreement because the Yurok Tribe wants to continue to exclude the Trinidad Rancheria from the TMT. However, there is absolutely nothing in the Partial Settlement Agreement or the proposed resolution approving the agreement and appointing the Trinidad Rancheria to the TMT that would diminish the rights of the Yurok Tribe or abrogate its sovereignty. Significantly, the agreement and resolution do nothing to affect or impair the Yurok Tribe’s position on the TMT, its rights of self-governance, or its right to determine its tribal members.
As opposed to interfering in Native American affairs, as the Yurok Tribe claims, Section 5(b) of the proposed resolution is a statement of equal deference and respect to both the Yurok Tribe and the Trinidad Rancheria. Specifically, the proposed resolution finds that City is not qualified to be the arbiter of cultural affiliation with regard to either Tribe, and the City respectfully defers to the two Tribes, recognizing and accepting that both have asserted and presented credible evidence that their Tribes are culturally affiliated with the TSA.
Honorable Cheryl Kelly
May 6, 2026
HOBBS STRAUS DEAN & WALKER, LLP WASHINGTON, DC | PORTLAND, OR | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | SACRAMENTO, CA | ANCHORAGE, AK | CLINTON, NY The Yurok Tribe has laid no foundation for its threat to sue the City, and its demand that the City “immediately cease and desist from considering and/or adopting” the proposed resolution is an alarming attempt to bully the City from exercising its lawful authority.
Respectfully,
Timothy Seward
Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP
5/7/26, 5:38 PM
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Strongly oppose partial settlement
From Tanna Tripp <[email protected]>
Date Wed 5/6/2026 6:24 PM
To Cityclerk Trinidad <[email protected]>
Dear City Council Members,
I am writing to submit my comments regarding Resolution 2026-04: Proposed Partial Settlement Agreement.
My name is Tanna Lindgren-Tripp. I am from the Tsurai Village, a Yurok Tribal member, and a member of the Tsurai Ancestral Society.
I strongly oppose the City Council's proposal to include the Trinidad Rancheria in the Tsurai Management Team. Furthermore, it is wildly inappropriate for the City Council to assume the authority to determine Yurok identity or village affiliation.
Respectfully,
Tanna Lindgren-Tripp