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Juaneno Indians' Bid for Federal Recognition Denied

Written by Administrator

Thursday, 17 March 2011

Juaneno Indians' Bid for Federal Recognition Denied by Jonathan Volzke 3.17.2011 The Juaneno Band of Mission Indians' 30-year bid to gain federal recognition has been denied, the tribe announced today. The decision from the federal Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs comes four years after a preliminary report ruled the San Juan Capistrano-based tribe could not prove members lineage back to a historical tribe and had remained a governed group since then. Wednesday's ruling indicates the tribe could not make progress in proving the same four areas: That external observes have continually identified the tribe since 1900; that the tribe has maintained political influence over its members; that members descended from a historical Indian tribe at Mission San Juan Capistrano. The ruling covers both factions of Juanenos that had submitted applications for federal recognition, said Nedra Darling, the Indian Affairs spokeswoman. Tribal leaders, including Chief Anthony Rivera, said they will appeal. Although Juanenos are spread throughout Southern California, Mission San Juan Capistrano is their spiritual center. But the Juanenos have split over the years, often in publicized battles. When the city of San Juan Capistrano invited two factions to the opening of park in the Los Rios Historical District last year, Rivera's group heckled and mocked the other group while its members were leading a Native prayer. In another case, when Mission San Juan Capistrano improperly build a fountain and parklike area over what was identified in historic maps as a cemetery, one faction protested, while Rivera's group sided with Mission. Similar battles took place over the construction of JSerra High School and the planned extension of the 241 South Foothill Transportation Corridor. Some members took the federal rejection as an opportunity to jab at Rivera, while asking for reconciliation at the same time. "The determination decision did not come as a surprise. How can criteria be met when the "leadership" decides that those who play by his rules can stay and those who don't are dis-enrolled...perhaps the federal goverment recognized that," said a statement by the Nieblas family, who did not follow Rivera. "We, as a tribe and our leadership should look inward and reflect on what has come to pass today. We all need to realize that neither the federal goverment nor Anthony Rivera can define who we are as a people. Our ancestors, our hearts, souls and spirits define us. It will be inner-strength that will cause us to move forward from here. We are strong, we are proud. We are Juaneno. That will never change." Federal recognition would have allowed the tribe to own land and essentially function as its own government. “The Tribe is very disappointed that the AS-IA and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) failed to properly evaluate the thousands of pieces of evidence the Tribe had presented. This is a great and continued injustice to the Acjachemen Tribe,” Rivera said in a statement. "Based on the thousands of pages of credible evidence, the Tribe will move ahead over the next stage to evaluate the OFA’s conclusions and prepare to appeal the inaccurate decision." The statement said the tribe submitted "thousands of pieces of credible evidence" over the last 29 years under the federal regulations as the basis for the fact that the Tribe had "completely complied" with all seven criteria for federal acknowledgement. Rivera's statement said the evidence contained more than 100,000 pieces of evidence that proved the existence of Acjachemen Nation, leaders, and people since 1776 to present, the existence of an Acjachemen community that governed itself since 1776 to present, official history written by Rivera and other experts of the Acjachemen Nation from 1776 to present, and evidence that all enrolled Acjachemen Indians descend directly from these historic Acjachemen Indians. The seven requirements for federal recognition are: A. That external observers have identified the petitioner as an American Indian entity on substantially continuous basis since 1900; B. That a predominant portion of the petitioning group has comprised a distinct community since historical times; C. That the petitioning group has maintained political influence over its members as an autonomous entity since historical times; D. That the petitioner provide a copy of its governing document; E. That the petitioner’s members descend from a historical Indian tribe; F. That a petitioner’s membership be composed principally of people not members of another federally recognized tribe; G. That the petitioner not be subject to legislation forbidding the federal relationship. The June 2007 proposed finding says the Juanenos failed to qualify on A, B, C and E. Since then, the tribe submitted a new tribal roll—excluding some members who appeared on the earlier list—and other documentation. It was unclear Wednesday which of the seven criteria were found unsubstantiated in the new ruling. Juaneño Tribal Elders include prominent Capistrano community members such as Rosalind Rodman Kosack, SJC Patriarch Thomas “Happy” Hunn, Teeter Romero, Wick Lobo, Barbara Banda, Louis Yorba, Jeannette Olivares McGreggor, Marian Walkingstick, Adolph Olivares, Clarence H. Lobo, Jr., and many more. The Juaneño Elders still bear the names of historic San Juan Capistrano families and bring significant heritage and memory to the Juaneño Tribe based on decades of experiences at the Mission, Mission School, and Old Mission Cemetery. Other historic Juaneño families enrolled and supporting with the Tribe include Rios’, Dorams, Sommers’, Ricardes’, McMullens, Wandells, Valenzuelas, Lopez’, Hunns, McMinns, Yorbas, Garcias, Carrillos, Wattenburgs, and many more historic Juaneño families. These historic Acjachemen families continue to be denied their rights to Indian health care, Indian educational opportunities, Indian housing services, and protections of Indian sovereignty. Some 565 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes have gained federal recognition, encompassing 1.9 million people. http://www.thecapistranodispatch.com/view/full_story/12377787/article-UPDATED--Juaneno-Indians--Bid-for-Federal-Recognition-Denied?instance=eye_on_sjc

 

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