Issa, Vargas Introduce Tribal Legislation to Place Sacred Land into Trust

Press Release

Today, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) and Congressman Juan Vargas (CA-51) re-introduced legislation to place 700 acres of land owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians in San Diego County into tribal trust. Issa said:

"The bipartisan legislation that I am reintroducing with Congressman Vargas is essential to allowing sacred tribal land that is owned by the Pala Band into a trust. The tribe proposes to manage the land in its natural state and provide the established stewardship of this space that they have performed for other lands that are also culturally revered."

Congressman Vargas stated: "The Pala Band of Mission Indians' land holds a piece of Southern Californian history and is home to home to nearly 1,000 enrolled members. I'm proud to join my colleague, Representative Darrell Issa, in introducing the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act, which will help the Pala Band protect years of rich and sacred history. The 700 acres of property includes some of their most sacred sites, including portions of Gregory Mountain, known as Chokla in Luiseño, and deserves to be recognized as part of their ancestral land."

The property includes the remaining portion of San Diego County's Gregory Mountain that is not on the existing Pala Reservation. In 2019 testimony before the House of Representatives, Pala Band Chairman Robert Smith stated that the land was historically occupied by Native peoples and is a site of an ancestral village, rock art paintings, artifacts, and more culturally meaningful components.

The legislation received bipartisan approval by the House Natural Resources Committee in the previous Congress.

Read the full text here.

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