November 27, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Viejas Casino & Resort officially opened their new 4-story parking structure on Friday, with a Native American Blessing and traditional Birdsongs.

After the ribbon was cut and the parking structure opened to the public, KUSI’s David Davis was among those who drove a brand new Porsche into the parking structure.

By Leon Thompson

November is the 2013 American Indian heritage month and Union Bank and KPBS have honored two very special Native American women with Local Heroes awards: Jane Dumas, an elder with the Jamul band of Kumeyaay Indians, and San Diego State University's Rose Margaret Orrantia.

Production Details Kumeyaay History and Sycuan’s Evolution in the Region

November 6, 2013 (El Cajon)-- On Friday morning, Sycuan will debut a historical documentary that chronicles its 12,000-year existence in the present-day San Diego/Northern Baja region. It’s taken 16 months to produce and features local Native American anthropologists, historians and curators who help weave and trace the Kumeyaay ancestry. It also contains biographical accounts that make it an even more compelling and thought provoking piece.

“It really shows our history from a perspective that most people have never heard of, it goes beyond anything in textbooks and accounts ever written or told about the Kumeyaay and Sycuan,” said Daniel Tucker, Chairman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation.

November 6, 2013 (El Cajon) — Actor Saginaw Grant, a Sac and Fox Indian who has played numerous Native American roles in the movies and on television, said at a Student Veteran Organization event at Grossmont College on Monday, Nov. 4. that every combat veteran comes home with hidden wounds caused by the things they saw or did.  However, he said, it’s important that they banish negative thoughts from their minds: “You can’t change those things by thinking about them.”

Grant, who had served in the Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict, said even after separating from the military service, veterans should continue to honor the proud military traditions that have been passed down for generations.  Likewise, Grant, who appeared in the 2013 movie The Lone Ranger as the Comanche Chief Big Bear, said that his Indian people should carefully listen and then honor the lessons that have been transmitted for eons in their oral traditions.

By Miriam Raftery

October 18, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Residents in Jamul are voicing concerns over a repaving project along State Route 94 that is causing dangerous conditions and delays of up to a half hour. Multiple sources have advised ECM that no warning signs are posting to warn motorists that traffic has been reduced to one lane. The delays are projected to continue through January. 

Kim Hamilton, editor of the Deerhorn Valley Antler, says the current situation may be just a precursor of traffic congestion that could occur if a proposed  casino at the Jamul Indian Casino is built. Already,  State Route 94 has a fatality rate per mile that is nearly six times the countywide average—before any casino is built.

Sports: The Competitive Spirit at Barona is Now Open to the Public

Photo: Vice Chairman Harold Hill, Curator Cheryl Hinton, and Brian VanWanseele, Barona Tribal member and President of the Board of Directors for Inter Tribal Sports

 October 8, 2013 (Lakeside) – To celebrate the history of sports on the Barona Indian Reservation, the Barona Cultural Center & Museum recently opened a new exhibition entitled Sports: The Competitive Spirit at Barona. The exhibit, on display this October through 2014, features Native American sports heroes from around the country as well as from the Barona Indian Reservation. Admission is free.

September 19,2013 (Alpine)—Friday the 13th proved lucky at Viejas Casino & Resort, where three  Guinness world records were set on September 13 th in celebration of the casino’s 22nd anniversary.

“It’s a challenge, a difficult,” Guinness Book of World Records adjudicator Philip Roberts said after Viejas employees and guests teamed up to open 639 bottles of wine simultaneously.  This broke the old record set in Las Vegas of 474. 

Those gathered went to set another world record for most people giving high fives in one place:  684.  The former record (405) was held by the United Arab Emirates, Roberts announced as the crowd cheered.

September 5, 2013 (Alpine) – To celebrate its 22^nd anniversary, Viejas Casino and Resort is aiming to break two Guiness World Records  on September 13—playing blackjack with the world’s largest deck of cards and later, opening the most bottles of wine at one time.

August 21, 2013 (Pala) -- The Pala Band of Mission Indians will hold its sixth annual “Honoring Traditions” Powwow August 23-25 at the Pala Rey Youth Camp, 10779 Highway 76, Pala. The Grand Entry will take place 8 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. This event is free and open to the public.

Activities include powwow dance contests, bird singing, an exhibition of “shinny” - a traditional Native American ball game, a homemade bow and arrow contest and a peon tournament. All ages are welcome to participate and the prizes range from $50 to $1,000. Eight invited performers will also compete in a drum contest for a grand prize of $12,000.

By Paul  Kruze

July 23, 2013 (San Diego's East County) -- After nearly a decade of wrangling between the State of California and Caltrans, Old Town State Park is set to be expanded and revitalized with approval of the new California state budget, which includes $436,000 in bond money allocated to demolish the old Caltrans building on Taylor Street.  Most significantly, the abandoned 115,735 square foot Caltrans building sits on top of an ancient Kumeyaay village which allegedly dates back to 500 AD, and which was once a thriving Mexican settlement.

July 12, 2013 (Lakeside) -- The Lakeside Chamber of Commerce has named Bonnie LaChappa as the 2013 Lakeside Citizen of the Year with their Harry J. Spence Award. Bonnie, a lifelong Lakeside resident and an elected member of the Barona Band of Mission Indians Tribal Council, is well known for her tireless volunteerism in the East County community.

“Giving back and sharing have always been a big part of our Barona Tribal culture,” said Clifford LaChappa, Chairman of the Barona Band of Mission Indians. “We are very proud of everything Councilwoman LaChappa has done in the community to earn this meaningful award.”

“You can’t have ‘green’ without social justice.” – filmmaker Robert Lundahl

June 20, 2013 (San Diego)--EMMY® Award winning filmmaker Robert Lundahl takes a hard look at U.S. energy policy and its effects on desert ecosystems, Native American tribes and communities across the West. The film has special relevance locally, where major energy projects in San Diego and Imperial Counties have sparked legal actions as tribal members seek to protect their heritage and sacred sites from destruction.

The filmmaker and Native American elders from California, Nevada & Arizona will be present at the premier of  “Who Are My People?”  The San Diego premier is a special presentation by Activist San Diego on Saturday evening, June 22, 7:00-9:00 p.m. at. Joyce Beers Uptown Community Center, 3900 Vermont Street, San Diego, 92103. 

By Nadin Abbott and Tom Abbott

Photos by Tom Abbott

June 7, 2013—(Jamul)  A full house of  600 Jamul residents came to a meeting on June 5 to hear a presentation by Penn International Representatives, the latest company engaged by the Jamul Indian Village hoping to build a gaming facility for the Jamul Indian Village, part of the Kumeyaay Nation.

The project has generated widespread community opposition, pitting Native American sovereign rights and economic prosperity against concerns of neighbors over traffic, fire, and rural community character.  All but one of the residents who testified opposed the project, despite efforts by the tribe to sharply scale back its original proposal.

June 4, 2013 (Alpine) – Viejas Casino & Resort has been awarded the prestigious Four Diamond status from the American Automobile Association (AAA), officially designating the property as one of the nation’s premier resort destinations.

Fewer than 5% of the nearly 31,000 properties approved by AAA achieve the highly-coveted Four Diamond distinction.

“We are extremely proud to be acknowledged as one of the finest resort destinations in the country,” said Viejas Casino & Resort General Manager Chris Kelley. “This honor is a testament to the dedication, hard work and professionalism of our Team Members and reflects our absolute dedication to the highest standards of guest service, accommodations and amenities.”

“I really want to say `Dismantle it and give the land back to the tribes…I’d like to ask the Attorney General to…give this commission more teeth so we could say `Tear that wall down.”  -- Commissioner Marshall McKay

View video highlights by Paul Kruze: http://youtu.be/nS93BfT6juI

  (For full unedited videos, scroll to bottom of this story)

By Miriam Raftery

April 26, 2013 (San Diego) – At a hearing in San Diego on Monday, members of the state Native American Heritage Commission heard several hours of emotional testimony from Native Americans who contend that the  U.S. Bureau of Land Management ignored their  concerns and its duty to protect a clearly documented sacred site and cemetery in the fast-tracked approval process for the Ocotillo Express Wind Facility.

By a 4-0 vote, with the remaining commissioners absent, the NAHC voted to grant requests by Viejas and Quechan tribes to declare the 12,400 acre Ocotillo wind project site a sanctified Native American  sacred site.  Further, the commissioners voted unanimously to ask California Attorney General Kamala Harris to research if legal action can be taken.