California makes Native American Day a paid state holiday, formalizes apology to tribes

Sep 25, 2026

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a legislative package on September 25, 2026, making Native American Day a paid state holiday, formalizing a state apology to tribes, and making the Office of Tribal Affairs permanent. While the state returned 136 acres of coastline to the Kai Poma tribal nonprofit and advanced co-management agreements for fisheries and watersheds, Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 2494, which sought to deprioritize commercial logging in state demonstration forests, drawing criticism from tribal and environmental advocates.

Native American Day paid holiday

▪California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1841 on September 25, 2026, establishing Native American Day, observed on the fourth Friday of September, as a paid holiday for state employees.
▪California has recognized Native American Day as a legal holiday since 1998, and state courts have closed for the holiday since 2022, when it replaced Columbus Day on the judicial calendar.
▪The implementation of Native American Day as a paid holiday for all California state workers under Assembly Bill 1841 requires funding from the California Legislature.

Apologizing for historical atrocities

▪Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2115 on September 25, 2026, extending California's formal apology for historical violence and atrocities against Native Americans to include the State Legislature and Judiciary.
▪Governor Gavin Newsom issued California's first formal apology in 2019 for the state's role in historical atrocities committed against Native Americans.

Office of Tribal Affairs

▪Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2507 on September 25, 2026, making the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs permanent and establishing a Tribal Advisory Committee.
▪Governor Gavin Newsom established the Governor's Office of Tribal Affairs in 2022 to support respectful and collaborative relationships with California tribes.

Truth and Healing Council

▪The California Truth and Healing Council, established in 2019 to examine the historical relationship between the state and tribal communities, is scheduled to release a report with recommendations in the fall of 2026.
▪Governor Gavin Newsom announced the creation of the California Truth and Healing Council in 2019 at the future site of the California Indian Heritage Center.

Tribal cultural burn agreements

▪Senate Bill 310 was enacted in 2024 to establish a government-to-government framework supporting the return of cultural fire within ancestral territories.
▪The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians and the California Natural Resources Agency agreed to sign California's second cultural burn agreement under Senate Bill 310 to facilitate tribal-led fire stewardship.

Cooperative fisheries management

▪Prior to the consolidation, the Hoopa Valley Tribe's weir supported the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's scientific monitoring alongside tribal cultural, ceremonial, and subsistence needs.
▪The Hoopa Valley Tribe and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced a project in September 2026 to consolidate the Willow Creek Weir into the Tribe’s Selective Fish Harvest Weir to improve salmon health and fishery management.

Transfer of coastal land to Kai Poma

▪Under the terms of the deed transfer from Caltrans, the 136-acre coastal property must remain open to the public with no admission fees, commercial development is prohibited, and the land reverts to Caltrans if Kai Poma dissolves.
▪The tribal nonprofit Kai Poma, representing the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, plans to use the reclaimed 136-acre coastal property for ceremonies and traditional food harvesting education.
▪The California Transportation Commission finalized the transfer of 136 acres of Northern California coastline, including Blues Beach, to the tribal nonprofit Kai Poma on June 26, 2026.

Veto of Assembly Bill 2494

▪Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 2494 on September 18, 2026, which aimed to deprioritize commercial logging in California's 14 demonstration forests.
▪Assembly Bill 2494 was supported by local leaders in Mendocino and Humboldt counties but faced opposition from the Rural County Representatives of California and timber and agriculture industry groups.
▪In his veto message for Assembly Bill 2494, Governor Gavin Newsom argued that narrowing the management of demonstration forests would limit the state's ability to test and demonstrate science-based forest management practices.

Debatable claims

▪California should prioritize carbon storage and biodiversity over timber production in its demonstration forests
▪Formal state apologies for historical atrocities are meaningful steps toward reconciliation
▪California's paid Native American Day holiday is a justified use of public funds