Abstract
Indigenous communities’ ties to land predate the settler state’s formation and havecontinued despite projects of genocide and land expropriation. In this thesis, I examine the history, place-making, and lived experience of the Ruffey Indian community in northern California. Through collaborative research with the Ruffey Indian community, I document the history of the Ruffey Rancheria as a federally-recognized tribe from 1906 to 1961, and I explore the social and political effects of termination in the present. This thesis highlights how the Ruffey Indian community maintains its attachment to place and each other through acts of care and efforts to restore their federal recognition.