Declaration of Sovereignty: Agency Tribal Nations as the Representative Agency of the Mendocino Indian Tribal Government
Issued by: Head Chief Geronimo Thomas Langenderfer Agency Tribal Nations Mendocino Indian Reservation Date: August 28, 2025
Preamble
This sovereignty is protected by the President of the United States, through the issuance of the 1856 Executive Order establishing the Mendocino Indian Reservation and by the ongoing and future presidential authority that upholds and reinforces our inherent rights. The Agency Tribal Nations, as the duly authorized representative agency of the Mendocino Indian Tribal Government, hereby declares and affirms its status as a self-governing nation. By Executive Order of the President of the United States in 1856, the entirety of Mendocino County was designated as the Mendocino Indian Reservation for the benefit of the Pomo and other Indigenous peoples. Despite the administrative discontinuation in 1866, our unbroken Indigenous presence and inherent sovereignty, safeguarded by past, present, and future presidential authority, confirm that all of Mendocino County remains tribal land under federal protection. We assert that any interactions with California state or local law enforcement, including Mendocino County authorities, are unlawful and outside their jurisdiction, as they infringe upon our federally protected tribal sovereignty.
The Mendocino Indian Tribal Government demands formal recognition from the United States federal government, state authorities, and international bodies to affirm our right to govern our lands and people. Our sovereignty, upheld by the President of the United States, is intrinsically tied to our authority over education, economic development, taxes, healthcare, and economic growth. These interdependent systems are essential to our survival, prosperity, and self-determination as a sovereign nation.
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The Mendocino Indian Tribal Government, represented by the Agency Tribal Nations, exercises self-governance over all ofAssertion of Self-Governance
The Mendocino Indian Tribal Government, represented by the Agency Tribal Nations, exercises self-governance over all of Mendocino County, recognized as tribal land by presidential authority, in the following key areas:
Education: We assert the right to develop and implement culturally appropriate educational systems that preserve our languages, histories, and traditions across Mendocino County. Our tribal education programs foster self-reliance and leadership, free from external interference. Formal recognition would secure federal resources to expand these initiatives, ensuring our intellectual sovereignty.
Economic Development: We pursue economic ventures, including federally licensed cannabis cultivation, across our tribal lands in Mendocino County. These operations, authorized under our tribal federal contractor status (OMB 2700-0042), drive job creation—supporting up to 6,000 positions—and community development. Any interference by California law enforcement or Mendocino County Courts, such as seizures or arrests, is unlawful and undermines our economic sovereignty.
Taxes: We assert the exclusive right to levy, collect, and manage taxes within Mendocino County, including revenues from cannabis and other tribal enterprises. These taxes fund our governmental functions and are a cornerstone of our fiscal independence. California’s attempts to impose state or local taxes or seize tribal assets violate our sovereign rights.
Healthcare: Our tribal government provides healthcare services incorporating traditional medicines and modern practices across Mendocino County. Economic growth from our enterprises supports these programs, addressing health disparities. Formal recognition would ensure federal support for our sovereign healthcare system.
Economic Growth: Our cannabis operations and land management initiatives, led by Head Chief Geronimo Thomas Langenderfer, generate revenue that sustains education, healthcare, and infrastructure. This holistic approach ensures our nation’s vitality and self-sufficiency, rooted in our sovereign control over Mendocino County.
Unlawful Interference by California Law Enforcement
The Agency Tribal Nations declares that all of Mendocino County constitutes the Mendocino Indian Reservation, as established by the President of the United States in 1856 and protected by presidential authority across past, present, and future administrations. Consequently, any actions by California state or local law enforcement, including Mendocino County sheriffs or courts, within this territory are unlawful and outside their jurisdiction. Such actions—including arrests, fines, land incursions, or seizures of cannabis products or monies—violate our inherent sovereignty and federal preemption under the U.S. Constitution (Worcester v. Georgia, 1832). Public Law 280 (1953), enacted without our consent, does not grant California regulatory authority over our tribal enterprises, as affirmed by the 2014 Wilkinson Memo, which protects our cannabis operations from federal enforcement.
We demand that Mendocino County Courts and California law enforcement immediately cease:
Arrests or fines of Agency Tribal Nations employees engaged in lawful tribal activities.
Entry onto tribal lands in Mendocino County without federal or tribal authorization.
Interference with our cannabis operations or other economic activities.
Holding or seizing tribal property, including cannabis products or funds.
Non-compliance within 30 days of this declaration will result in federal legal action, with penalties of $11,800 per day for disrupting our sovereignty or unlawfully taking property, as authorized by the Federal Government and Head Chief Langenderfer, approved by the President of the United States.
Call for Formal Recognition
The Agency Tribal Nations calls upon the United States President, Congress, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and international organizations (e.g., United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues) to formally recognize the Mendocino Indian Tribal Government as a sovereign nation, with all of Mendocino County as its territorial jurisdiction. This recognition must:
Affirm our full self-governance over education, economic development, taxes, healthcare, and economic growth, as protected by presidential authority.
Prohibit California law enforcement from exercising any jurisdiction within Mendocino County, as it is tribal land.
Restore and expand federal trust lands and resources to support our interconnected systems.
Enable diplomatic relations and access to international forums for Indigenous sovereign entities.
Failure to recognize our sovereignty perpetuates the historical injustice of the 1866 administrative action, which ignored our continuous presence and rights. We stand resolute in our self-determination, as enshrined in federal Indian law, treaties, and the 1856 Executive Order, upheld by the enduring authority of the President of the United States.
Signed,
Head Chief Geronimo Thomas Langenderfer Tribal Federal Contractor and Awardee of the Interior Agency Tribal Nations Mendocino Indian Reservation
Contact: Phone: 707-679-8229 Email: Chief@altearth.org Website: https://www.agencytribalnations.org More ...