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 bill — authored by California's two Democratic senators, Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Fallbrook — will authorize Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to transfer 721 acres of land that was acquired by the Pala into trust for the benefit of the tribe and its members.
"The Pala Band of Mission Indians is an important and meaningful part of our Southern California community, and I know Pala will carry out its rightful stewardship in a way that will protect and preserve sacred lands," Issa said. "We worked diligently to bring together supporters from across the aisle and from both houses of Congress, and this show of support is a tribute to the integrity of the Pala project."
The land includes a sacred site known locally as Gregory Mountain or as Chokla in Luiseño. Chokla is next to Highway 76 and looms above the San Luis Rey River, the Pala Casino and an old quarry. 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.
"With the passage of the legislation, our ancestral grounds, which is central to our spiritual and cultural traditions, will be forever protected as part of the Pala Reservation," said Chairman Robert Smith of the Pala Band of Mission Indians.
In 2019, Smith testified to Congress that the land was historically occupied by Native peoples and is a site of an ancestral village, rock art paintings and ancient artifacts.
"This week's action in the Senate brings us closer to fulfilling the federal government's trust and treaty responsibilities to allow Tribal governments to once again manage their sacred lands," Padilla said. "This bill will allow the Pala Tribe to steward their ancestral homelands, known to the Tribe as 'Chokla,' and preserve their traditions for future generations."
The Pala Band — made up of descendants from both Cupeño and Luiseño peoples — have used Chokla as a place to pray and fast since at least 1903, when the U.S. government forcibly moved the Cupeño from their ancestral home near what is now Warner Springs in remote northeastern San Diego County to the reservation that already held Luiseño peoples not far south of Temecula.
According to the tribe's own history, the 40-mile journey from the place they called "Cupa" to Pala took three days.
"I'm pleased the Senate passed our bill to transfer more than 700 acres of sacred tribal land acquired by the Pala Band of Mission Indians into trust managed by the Interior Department for the benefit of the tribe," Feinstein said. "This land has significant cultural and historic ties and I'm glad we are moving to protect it."
The Luiseño people also used Chokla as a sacred place for centuries prior, describing it as one of the resting places of the powerful spirit Takwish. Shasta Gaughen, the tribe's environmental director and tribal historic preservation officer, and a former anthropologist at Cal State San Marcos, described Takwish as keeping "the balance between life and death" in an article she wrote for Indian Voices prior to 2016.
Additionally, Medicine Rock, a sacred spot with ancient pictographs used for rituals and healing, is also located at the base of Chokla.
