“Our reservation is in dire financial condition. We have really nothing to give our youth…All we have are false promises.” – Denis Largo, tribal elder who delivered a petition calling for a vote to overturn wind project approval

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Tribal elder Dennis Largo

February 14, 2020 (Campo)—Whistleblowers in the Campo band of Mission Indians claim that their tribal leadership pushed through approval of a massive wind project during an improperly noticed meeting. They have now collected enough signatures to overturn that approval with a revote.  But despite the Feb. 13th deadline to notify tribal members of a meeting to revote on the controversial project, several tribal members say they have not received any such notice.   

The proposed Campo Wind project would allow 60 turbines built by Terra-Gen on the reservation. Each would be 586 tall, the tallest wind turbines ever built on land, according to Donna Tisdale, chair of the Boulevard Community Planning Group, which also opposes the project.

By Donald H. Harrison

Originally published at San Diego Jewish World, a member of the San Diego Online News Network

Photo:  Ewa’a on patio of Mission Trails Regional Park visitors center

December 8, 2019 (San Diego) - There are some 40 miles of trails in Mission Trails Regional Park along the San Diego River and surrounding grasslands and mountains. Hikers can view Kumeyaay and Spanish archaeological sites, possibly encounter some endangered animals and some dangerous ones, and be introduced to plants with characteristics so interesting they almost have personalities.

By Miriam Raftery

November 22, 2019 (Alpine) – To ring in 2020, Viejas Casino & Resort is hosting a Roaring ‘20s themed New Year’s Eve bash that promises to be the resort’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration yet.

You’re invited to don your flapper dress or Gatsby get-up, then choose a package tailored to fit your fortune.  Festivities will span the ballrooms, pool bar, park, and beyond.

The invite adds, “See you there, revelers – it will be the bee’s knees!

For more information, visit https://viejas.com/new-years-eve-bash-2020/.

Directed by Randy Reinholz (Choctaw) in SDSU’s Experimental Theatre; production is a collaboration with LA theatre company, Native Voices at the Autry

Source: SDSU

October 20, 2019 (San Diego) -- The SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film presents Lying with Badgers, a timeless story of hope, loss, identity, and wonder, from Friday, Nov. 1 to Sunday, Nov. 10 in SDSU’s Experimental Theatre.  

The Sycuan band of the Kumeyaay nation will hold its 30th annual powwow from Friday evening, September 6 through Sunday, September 8 at the Sycuan powwow ground (5577 Dehesa Rd., El Cajon). 

The event features bird singing and Native American dance competitions, drumming, Native arts and crafts vendors, foods and more.

East County News Service

August 8, 2019 (Lakeside) - The 49thtth annual Barona Powwow takes place Friday, August 30th through Sunday, September 1st at the Barona Sports complex on the Barona Indian reservation.

The public is welcome to come watch Native dancers and drummers from across the nation compete at the powwow, where you can also find craft vendors and food such as tacos made with Native American fry bread. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of California Missions Foundation

July 25, 2019 (San Diego) -- Soldados de Cuera, Native Californians and a Franciscan father depicting Saint Junípero Serra, came together on a hill high above San Diego  on July 16, at the original site of the first Mission and Presidio type garrison in Alta California – to commemorate what many call the Founding of California, exactly 250 years ago Tuesday. View video of the historic reenactment. 

The City of San Diego uses the date July 16, 1769 as its official birthdate, and  along with the rest of California, it celebrated its 250^th birthday. Not only was Alta California’s first Mission and Presidio founded on this date, but also came the official recognition of the adjacent ocean port and the seeds of a united California under the Spanish, and later Mexican and U.S. flags.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Xusha Brown, Jr., innocent victim of gangland shooting

July 25, 2019 (La Mesa) – “We will continue to fight until justice is done,” Deborah Flores, mother of slain Sycuan tribal member Xusha Brown Jr. said at a press conference in 2016, when the tribe boosted a reward to $100,000 to help find his killer. La Mesa Police also posted the reward information on freeway signs. Three weeks later, three men were arrested for the drive-by shooting of Brown, 22, which occurred on I-8 in La Mesa in 2013.

New Julian fire station No. 56 sits on disputed land

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

July 13, 2019 (Julian) – Following a firestorm of controversy over San Diego County’s takeover of the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District, the County may lose access to a new fire station. Theodore J. Griswold, attorney for the Kumeyaay Native American Land Conservancy, has filed an eviction notice with the San Diego County Fire Authority (SDCFA) that would force the SDCFA to abandon Julian Fire Station No. 56 within two weeks.

The future of Station No. 56,  located at 3407 State Route 79 just south of downtown Julian, has been a dicey subject from the onset of the county’s efforts to shut down of the Julian Cuyamaca Fire protection District (JCFPD), the county’s last volunteer fire department. Though the transfer of authority was approved by a majority of voters and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), many area residents have fought strenuously to reverse the action, with litigation pending. 

East County News Service

June 21, 2019 (Jamul) – On Saturday, June 22, Jamul Casino will ring in summer by hosting an All-Star Block Party featuring casino promotions, live entertainment, and celebrity guests.  The all-day event will feature:

By Miriam Raftery

June 18, 2019 (Sycuan) – Members of sovereign tribes from across North America convened at the Sycuan resort in San Diego’s East County June 9-11 for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and Trafficking Awareness Conference.

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Julian Rodriguez 

June 14, 2019 (In-Ko-Pah) – Native Americans running from the Fort Yuma Indian reservation in Arizona to the Sycuan reservation in San Diego’s East County, a 150 mile journey, sought  to draw attention to the plight of missing and murdered sovereign Native American women. On Friday morning, they wound up saving the lives of two women whose vehicle plunged off of I-8 east  into a rugged canyon.