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Too many Californians, including people living nearby in the San Joaquin Valley, have never made the trip to Yosemite National Park. Families have never seen the world's most astounding granite monoliths or waded together into the chilly Merced River. Experiences like these are life-changing. All Americans should know and believe that Yosemite does indeed belong to them, and that we all have equal rights to visit and cherish the park.

Restore Hetch Hetchy's campaign to restore Yosemite Valley's lost twin involves helping our national parks live up to their democratic purpose. Our goal is for Hetch Hetchy to play a part in helping our nation come together, undivided, with liberty and justice for all.

Moreover, Hetch Hetchy Valley* is the ancestral homeland of nearly a dozen Native peoples, who were forcibly removed beginning with California Gold Rush of 1849. Restore Hetch Hetchy believes restoration has potential for Native Americans descended from Hetch Hetchy's original inhabitants to reclaim part of their natural and cultural heritage.

It is imperative that Native voices are at the forefront of discussions and decisions surrounding the future of Yosemite's Twin, the Hetch Hetchy Valley.  RHH strongly supports Tribes in having a meaningful and active participation in all aspects of restoration including the opportunity for co-management of the valley. Restore Hetch Hetchy is engaged with Yosemite's "Traditionally Associated Tribes" and is committed to work with them as partners to achieve this goal.

* Hetch Hetchy is thought to be derived from the Miwok language. Paiutes refer to the  valley as Iyaydzi.

From Voices of the People, Associated Tribes of Yosemite National Park, 2021:

We ought to consider those who were here before us and what was valuable to them when contemplating our future expansion into nature. What [are] their practices and concerns? How might we preserve their culture and history? What might we learn from them? How can we balance our impact on Creation by using the knowledge of those that were here before us? These are the questions that all of mankind ought to address when considering our impact upon each other as well as upon all of Creation.   p. 100

Before Hetch Hetchy Valley was turned into a water reservoir in 1923, it was home to many Native Americans, both seasonally and year-round. It lay as a long slender valley that widened out as it moved west, deep below the granite cliffs of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne...Paiute people referred to the valley as Iyaydzi. In many ways it resembled Yosemite Valley, some referring to it as the "Tuolumne Yosemite," having been shaped and carved out by the last glacial era. This great meadow was full of oak trees, grass, and deer. It is remembered by the old people as being an Indian paradise where their parents and grandparents once roamed. John Muir referred to it as the home and stronghold of the Indians.    pp. 93-94