One of our big projects in 2020 was securing the $30,000 Beyond the Net Grant from the Internet Society Foundation to help get better internet access for 9,000+ California Native American people living on tribal land in eastern San Diego County. We’re working with a partner organization, the Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Alliance which serves 20+ tribes in that area. For the next few months, we’ll be profiling tribes that are benefiting directly from our chapter’s work.

The text below are the official descriptions from the SCTCA’s website:

La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians
The La Jolla Reservation spans 8,541 acres along the southern slopes of Mount Palomar and descends in cascading terraces to the cool forests of the upper reaches of the San Luis Rey River. The reservation is located off State Highway 76, 25 miles east of Escondido and 60 miles northeast of San Diego. The La Jolla Reservation was first established by Executive Orders on December 27, 1875, and May 15, 1876. An Executive Order on May 3, 1877, returned some land to the public domain. The present reservation was established on September 13, 1892. A subsequent allotment consisted of 634 acres. The La Jolla Reservation lies within traditional Luiseño territory.

Members of the La Jolla Band belong to the Luiseño Tribe. Tribal members have resided in the region for thousands of years. Luiseño traditional territory originally covered roughly 1,500 miles of southern California to the north of the Kumeyaays’ land, including most of the San Luis Ray and Santa Margarita drainages. The Luiseño language is of the Cupan group of the Takic language, a subfamily of the greater Uto-Aztecan linguistic family. The term Luiseño is derived from the San Luis Rey Mission and has been used in Southern California to refer to those Takic-speaking people associated with the mission.

The reservation is a PL-638 tribe governed by general council composed of all tribal members age 21 and older. The five-member elected tribal council includes a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a secretary-treasurer. The tribal council meets monthly and serves two-year terms. The tribe is organized under a non-IRA Articles of Association that was approved in 1962. The La Jolla Tribal Government developed one of the first tribal employment rights offices in California. Government departments include education and culture. The tribe does not maintain its own law enforcement department. However, it is in the process of developing a program through contracts with the BIA and the county sheriff’s office currently provides services.

Read more here.

La Posta Band of Mission Indians
The La Posta Reservation spans 3,556.49 acres and is located in the Laguna Mountains, 56 miles east of San Diego and 46 miles west of El Centro. Located just west of the Manzanita and Campo Indian Reservations, the reservation is bordered on the southwest corner by Interstate 8. The reservation was established on February 10, 1893, under the authority of the Act of January 12, 1891.

The residents of La Posta Reservation are members of the Kumeyaay Tribe. The group’s language belongs to the Yuman branch of the greater Hokan linguistic family. The Kumeyaays’ traditional territory encompassed what is now San Diego County.

The La Posta Reservation is governed by a general council. Elected council members include a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a business manager. Elected members serve two-year terms, and the general council meets twice a year. The band is organized under an IRA constitution that was approved on March 5, 1973.

Read more here.

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