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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.

The 118th Congress is finally underway and Indian Country bills are among the first to advance in a new political atmosphere on Capitol Hill.

The OBJ Outdoor Index is showing a modest upward trend. July was encouraging, but there's no knowing whether the gains will last.