
Pepperwood's Native Advisory Council
Pepperwood is grateful to be partnered with local tribal leaders through our Native Advisory Council. Council members provide important insights into cultural and land stewardship practices that inform our research and education programs. The Council brings with them a legacy of environmental stewardship that stretches back for millennia, and share traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that is just as relevant – and perhaps even more critical – today as it was a thousand years ago.
Above photo (from left to right): Cultural Resource Coordinator, Ben Benson; Lucy and Clint McKay; TekTekh Gabaldon, L. Frank Manriquez
The purpose of our Native Advisory Council is to foster open communication between Pepperwood and local Indigenous communities, to ensure appropriate stewardship of cultural resources on-site, and to foster collaborative projects that advance mutual goals.
Objectives of our partnership
– To engage volunteer council-members in quarterly gatherings focused on updates and exchanges regarding current and proposed projects in order to support and maintain information flow between Pepperwood and our local native communities.
– To develop joint projects that explore application of Native land stewardship practices as a resource for contemporary adaptive management of our natural resources. The role of the Council is to review and prioritize proposals and to help provide connections to native peoples, knowledge, and resources to help strengthen Pepperwood’s programs.
Native Advisory Council Work at Pepperwood
- Advising on the stewardship of cultural resources on site
- Integrating traditional ecological knowledge into the adaptive management of the reserve
- Hosting local native community members in educational events and cultural celebrations
- Sharing cultural perspectives by serving as leaders in community outreach and public engagement

Clint McKay leads local teens from North Bay Met Academy and Windsor Oaks Academy on a hike looking at native plants and sharing Traditional Ecological Knowledge with them, focusing on food sovereignty. Photo courtesy of Rose Hammock.
Learn More
Meet the Native Advisory Council
Clint McKay

Clint is the descendant of several important local culture bearers that include the late Laura Fish Somersal and the late Mabel McKay. He is a Native speaker of the Wappo language and he also speaks some Pomo and is himself a culture bearer with extensive Native historical knowledge, not only of Pepperwood but also of the entire region. McKay is a born naturalist with a deep understanding of plant communities and traditional Wappo methods of nurturing them. He is a gifted basket weaver and he serves on the Board of the California Indian Basket Weavers Association. McKay is also a traditional Wappo spiritual leader and he is the headman of a traditional dance group. McKay has a Master’s Degree in Indigenous Education.
Lucy McKay

Lucy McKay is an elder and enrolled member of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians. She is also Northern Sierra Miwok. She has extensive cultural knowledge in the traditional practices of her tribes. She works to help Native community members understand Indigenous knowledge systems and preserve tribal traditions. She also works to increase public awareness of Native culture through educational programming.
L. Frank

L. Frank is the nom d’arte of L. Frank Manriquez, a Tongva & Ajachemem & Rarámuri artist, writer, tribal scholar, cartoonist, and indigenous language activist. She brings extensive knowledge of California Indian cultural affairs to her position on the Pepperwood Native Advisory Council. L. Frank has exhibited her artwork (paintings, sculpture, weavings, photography, cartoons, regalia) in museums and galleries locally, nationally, and internationally. She works to revitalize indigenous languages and is the co-founder of Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival. L. Frank is also a board member of The Cultural Conservancy as well as Neshkanukat, and for fifteen years served on the board of directors of the California Indian Basketweavers Association.
TekTekh Gabaldon

TekTekh Gabaldon, who is Mishewal Wappo, is another valuable member of the Native Advisory Council. TekTekh is a traditional culture bearer, a naturalist, and she is active in tribal ceremonial affairs throughout the North Bay region.