Pala Tribe News Today

During a chaotic year for the House of Representatives, only three Inland Empire representatives had bills signed into law.

During a chaotic year for the House of Representatives, only three Inland Empire representatives had bills signed into law.

California Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), the first and only California Native American elected to the legislature, received an award from the California Native American Heritage Commission for serving as the longest serving chair. Ramos is a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe and former chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Ramos received the award on Thursday night at the California Tribal Chairpersons Association.

President Biden Tuesday signed into law a bill to place into trust around 720 acres of land considered sacred to the Pala Band of Mission Indians just weeks after it unanimously passed the U.S. Senate.

President Biden Tuesday signed into law a bill to place into trust around 720 acres of land considered sacred to the Pala Band of Mission Indians just weeks after it unanimously passed the U.S. Senate.

The law -- authored by California's two Democratic senators, Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Fallbrook -- authorizes Interior...

About 720 acres in North County will be put into tribe trust

A bipartisan bill to place sacred Indian land in Southern California into federal trust is heading to President Joe Biden’s desk. The Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2023 will authorize Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) to place 721.2 acres of land acquired by the Pala Band into federal trust for the benefit of its members. The lands are adjacent to the Pala Band of Mission Indians’ existing reservation.

A bill to place into trust around 720 acres of land considered sacred to the Pala Band of Mission Indians passed through the U.S. Senate unanimously this week and is now headed to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.

The land includes a sacred site known locally as Gregory Mountain or as Chokla in Luiseño. A 20-year fight to build a landfill at its foot in Gregory Canyon was stopped in 2016 when the Pala Band of Mission Indians purchased a portion of the site for $13 million.