Redding Rancheria
A nation today
Background
People were already gathering on what became the rancheria to fish salmon in Clear Creek before the government bought the land, and life there was communal: people looked after each other's children, planted gardens for food, and carried buckets of water from natural springs in Clear Creek. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was obliged to establish and maintain a domestic water system, provide a road and build housing, and built only a handful of substandard houses, the Tribe's history page records. Congress terminated the rancheria by an act dated July 6, 1959, which set out how its assets would be distributed, and the land was then parceled off and sold while the people living there kept a traditional tribal council going. In 1983 a California district court ruled that the Bureau's failure to meet its obligations under the California Rancheria Act invalidated the Act, which restored the Redding Rancheria and 17 other tribes as federally recognized, and the restored Tribe adopted its constitution in 1987. Government starts with a General Membership of all adult tribal members, which sets broad priorities, and an elected Tribal Council of seven voting members and three alternates that gives the government's units policy direction.
Visit and learn
Tribal lands have their own laws. Check the nation's site before you visit.
Parks on its homelands
Lassen Volcanic National ParkThe Bureau of Indian Affairs bought the land that is now the Redding Rancheria in 1922 to provide a place for homeless Indians to camp and live, and the community that grew there held not one tribe but people of Pit River, Wintu and Yana descent. Source
Programs
Redding Rancheria Community Education Fund
The Fund runs three scholarships. An Education Assistance Program gives adult students up to $300 a calendar year for college, university or trade school, one request per year, payable as reimbursement or directly to the school, with applications taken January 1 to June 30 and July 1 to December 31 on a first come, first served basis. A Native American Education Scholarship gives five recipients up to $500 each toward tuition, books and school costs, and a Youth Native American High School Education Scholarship gives two graduating seniors $500 each. The Johnson O'Malley Program funds school supplies for Native American youth from preschool to grade 12. The service area covers much of Trinity County, the City of Redding and the Cottonwood, Round Mountain and Shingletown addresses.
Tribal Court
The court was established with the help of a Bureau of Indian Affairs grant and convened in 2006, and the Tribe's site calls providing its own court an important part of protecting its position as a sovereign government. The Tribal Council has delegated jurisdiction to it over children's court, tribal employment matters, marriage and marriage dissolution, on-reservation torts and contracts, and workers' compensation. The court has held more than 400 hearings and issued its first marriage license under the Tribe's Domestic Relations Ordinance.
Community Services
A Title VI Senior Nutrition program funded by a federal Agency on Aging grant has served meals at the Redding Rancheria Community Center since November 1999, with frozen meals delivered every two weeks to elders who cannot come in, and supportive services that include Tai Chi, exercise, crafts, games, health checkups and transportation. Housing help comes through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act, covering homeownership, counseling, rental deposits and emergency housing.
Sources
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-01-30/html/2026-01899.htm
- https://www.reddingrancheria-nsn.gov/tribal-history/
- https://www.reddingrancheria-nsn.gov/redding-rancheria-organization-chart/
Checked September 2026.