MENU
Vice President of Coastal Communities & Fisheries
A gathering at Pescadero State Beach.
The Tribal Marine Stewards Network is a coalition working along the California coastline to uplift the sovereignty of its six member tribes through stewardship, monitoring, and co-management. This year, the Network is being honored with the 2025 Indigenous Leadership Award for its efforts toward building an innovative, collaborative, and growing alliance. Photos courtesy of Tribal Marine Stewards Network.
The California coast is a magnificent, rugged landscape where mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. Yet, for too long, this critical ecosystem has been exploited through mining, timber, and other extractive industries, disregarding the deep wisdom and knowledge of the tribes who have been its caretakers since time immemorial. That’s why the work of the Tribal Marine Stewards Network (TMSN) is so profound: In some cases, the individual member tribes have not had access to areas of their ancestral coastline for hundreds of years. The Network and its six member tribes are reclaiming their responsibility to manage one mile at a time.
In the words of one of their supporters, the TMSN is “not only doing the hard work—they are doing it in a good way.” This is the essence of their mission: to protect ancestral coastal and ocean territories and restore balance by bridging traditional knowledge with contemporary science. The Network’s work is guided by four core themes: environmental stewardship, economic and community prosperity, cultural vitality, and tribal capacity building. It’s a holistic approach that recognizes the deep and inseparable connection between the health of the environment and the well-being of the people.
Field trip with Kashia Elementary and Sonoma State University conducting a Beach Watch.
TMSN began as a pilot project in 2020 with funding from the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC). The Network initially consisted of four founding tribes: the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, the Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People, and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation. Its success led to an additional $3.6 million investment from the OPC in 2022, as well as support from several private foundations. This has allowed the Network to sustain and to expand to six participating tribes, including the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians and the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria.
The Network’s success is a testament to the power of Indigenous-led initiatives. They have created programs for monitoring and managing marine species, such as salmon, surf smelt, and abalone, and habitats like kelp forests and coastal wetlands. In addition, they conduct crucial monitoring for toxic algae blooms, which pose serious public health threats to culturally important food sources like mussels. Member tribes conduct surveys that document cultural sites, using advanced techniques, like GIS mapping and the Tribal Intertidal Digital Ecological Surveys method, to capture data for long-term monitoring. In the process, TMSN is reclaiming management responsibilities and fostering inter-tribal collaboration and partnership.
The Tribal Marine Stewards Network is a powerful example of what is possible when Indigenous knowledge and leadership are centered in conservation, but their work goes beyond environmental science: their efforts are revitalizing culture and building a more resilient future. The Network’s commitment to investing in the next generation of leaders is evident in the youth and young adult stewardship programs hosted by several of its member tribes. These programs are reconnecting Native youth with their traditional stewardship practices and empowering them to become the future caretakers of their homelands. In a time of climate uncertainty, the TMSN’s leadership offers a hopeful model to fight this climate catastrophe, rooted in deep cultural values and a vision of a world where both people and nature flourish.
The Tribal Marine Stewards Network is the second group in the history of the Indigenous Leadership Award to receive an award. Their work shows how tribes in coalition can achieve internationally important environmental goals, while growing their innovative and collaborative Indigenous alliance. Their collective efforts are a testament to their strength, vision, and unwavering commitment to their families, cultures, and homelands, and the Indigenous Leadership Award is a well-deserved recognition of their profound impact on the future of California and beyond.
Members of the Tribal Marine Stewards Network at the 2025 Indigenous Leadership Awards
Website
Webpage
Celebrate this year’s awardees in a ceremony at the Redd on Salmon Street on October 15, 2025!
We warmly welcome friends, family, partners, and community members to join us at the Redd on Salmon Street for this special occasion.
Project Page
A celebration of the determination, wisdom, and continuum of Indigenous leadership across the region.
