Shelly Covert

homa kani - This is a brief introduction to the work I do with Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe and our non-profit CHIRP.

Shelly Covert is the Spokesperson for the Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe. She sits on the Tribal Council and is community outreach liaison. She is also the Executive Director of the Tribally guided, non-profit, CHIRP (the California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project), whose mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate Nisenan Culture.

Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribal citizens are direct, lineal descendants of the original indigenous people who were here thousands of years before the gold rush. Most of Shelly's work has been focused within the Ancestral homelands of her Tribe in Northern California. But efforts to restore federal recognition to the Nevada City Rancheria have broadened geographic outreach and education to include the rest of the United States. In addition “getting recognition back”, the advocacy work itself has grown in scope to include subjects that impact the preservation, protection, and perpetuation of Nisenan Culture and the rights of Nature and all its beings.

Shelly works closely with the Elders, Tribal Council, and Tribal members, to identify the areas of greatest need, and then guides CHIRP as Executive Director, to develop and implement projects that address these needs. Because the history of Nisenan existence remains excluded from history books and mainstream education, undoing the erasure of the Nisenan has been at the forefront of Tribal efforts and a focus for CHIRP. Raising the visibility of the Nisenan through community outreach, public events, and education has been of great importance as the Tribe struggles with inclusion of its culture and identity in the 21st century.

"There is an intimate and symbiotic relationship that's organically formed between CHIRP and the Tribe that I never could have expected; each reflects the other. Every day is a learning experience and I challenge myself continuously to keep up my personal growth and to stretch my capacity. This culture is in critical danger and it's such a beautiful thing and worthy of saving. That's why it's become my life's work. I struggle. I am proud. I fail. But I'll never give up the fight until we get our recognition back and CHIRP has a steady, sustainable budget to support the long list of projects whose implementation will be for the betterment of us all." - shelly covert

In 1964, the United States “terminated” the Nevada City Rancheria, took away individual rights and status afforded to “Indians”, sold the reservation land and left the Nisenan homeless. In 2021 the Nevada City Rancheria remains in a “terminated” state and is therefore barred from accessing Federal Indian programs and funding for housing, education, health, and economic sustainability. CHIRP has become a lifeboat for fundraising, donations, community engagement, and project implementation. Federal recognition would help mitigate the high rates of undereducation, unemployment, addiction, suicide, and sickness by allowing the Tribe to regain access to Federal Indian grants and services.

“As a “terminated” Tribe we do not have access to any of the Federal programs set aside for Indian people. We have been erased and forgotten in our homelands. But, today we raise our voice and seek visibility and inclusion as the Indigenous people of this place. We raise our voice to speak out for the land, air, water and animals who live here and need our protection.” - shelly covert

The Nisenan people have been denied their right to self-determination and sovereignty for far too long. Congress must restore Federal Recognition and put Nevada City Rancheria back on the list of Federally Recognized Indian Tribes.

Click below to learn how you can support our efforts to get our Federal Recognition restored.

Shelly Covert
Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribal Spokesperson
Executive Director of California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project

photography provided by Aeron Miller