Post by blackcrowheart on Dec 10, 2005 11:25:28 GMT -5
Surplus land returned to San Manuel Band
Posted: December 05, 2005
by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today
Photo courtesy Paul Prado -- San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Vice Chairman Henry Duro received a quitclaim deed from Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason conveying surplus U.S. Air Force base lands to the California tribe.
PALA, Calif. - Eighteen acres of ancestral land that have been returned to the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians by the BIA will be transformed into a development project that will include an international airport.
The land transfer took place in a ceremony Nov. 29 at the tribe's Pala reservation, about five miles from the 18-acre property that is part of the former Norton Air Force Base, which closed more than 10 years ago.
San Manuel Vice Chairman Henry Duro and other tribal officials attended the celebration, during which the deed was signed over to the tribe by Interior Department Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason. Other Interior officials also attended the event at the reservation, which is located in an area known as the Inland Empire.
''This is a joyous day for the San Manuel people. We have waited a long time to reclaim these parts of our ancestral lands so that we can develop our tribal economy and participate in the revitalization of the Inland Empire,'' Duro said.
Cason congratulated the U.S. Air Force, the BIA and the tribe for their efforts in completing the land transfer.
''Through consultation, cooperation and communication, they have effectively brought the long and complicated process of transferring these surplus federal lands to a successful conclusion,'' Cason said.
The rest of the air base property was acquired by other local governmental entities, including the cities of Highland and San Bernardino, and San Bernardino County. The tribe will work on a government-to-government basis with the other land owners to develop the property.
Although the area fell into an economic slump when the base was closed, the existing airport has a runway system and towers, and continues to be used on a limited basis for small cargo and private jets.
Discussions are under way among all stakeholders to create a comprehensive plan for the future, tribal spokesman Jason Coin said.
''I think the prospects for growth in the area are great enough that another international airport will be justified. What's especially important is the San Manuel tribe is at the table with these other governmental entities, trying to map out what this region will look like 10 and 20 years from now. As a recognized tribal government with a stake in the property, we'll be able to help shape the environmental, economic and social future; and it's a good example of how these projects can be put together cooperatively,'' Coin said.
The land transfer process began when the tribe sought to acquire portions of Norton Air Force Base under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 after the base closed in 1994. The Air Force agreed to transfer three parcels of the surplus federal property at no cost, as stipulated in the act. The property includes the Air Combat Camera Services facility and other smaller buildings. Although the land was transferred with a waiver of fair market value, the tribe has already spent money to renovate one building to use as a training facility for tribal and local fire and safety personnel.
The 200-member tribe has an 800-acre reservation in southern California that has been home to the Serrano people for centuries before European contact. The area's first non-indigenous populations came from Spain and, later, Mexico.
The tribe has been hugely successful in its economic development projects, which include San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino; Four Fires, an economic coalition between the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians of California that developed a $43 million Marriott hotel project in Washington, D.C.; a cooperative ownership of the Twin Palms Restaurant; the San Manuel Bottled Water Group; and San Manuel Village, a real estate investment project to develop land near the San Manuel reservation into a property that will include a hotel and conference center, restaurants, retail space and offices.
In 1891, Congress authorized a 25-acre reservation for the tribe at the base of the McKinley Mountain in the San Bernardino Mountain Range. An intricate network of fault lines, including the San Andreas Fault, runs through the reservation and extends under the tribe's administrative offices. The new land is better suited for the tribe's needs and will support its effort to contribute to the local economy, according to the BIA.
Posted: December 05, 2005
by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today
Photo courtesy Paul Prado -- San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Vice Chairman Henry Duro received a quitclaim deed from Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason conveying surplus U.S. Air Force base lands to the California tribe.
PALA, Calif. - Eighteen acres of ancestral land that have been returned to the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians by the BIA will be transformed into a development project that will include an international airport.
The land transfer took place in a ceremony Nov. 29 at the tribe's Pala reservation, about five miles from the 18-acre property that is part of the former Norton Air Force Base, which closed more than 10 years ago.
San Manuel Vice Chairman Henry Duro and other tribal officials attended the celebration, during which the deed was signed over to the tribe by Interior Department Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason. Other Interior officials also attended the event at the reservation, which is located in an area known as the Inland Empire.
''This is a joyous day for the San Manuel people. We have waited a long time to reclaim these parts of our ancestral lands so that we can develop our tribal economy and participate in the revitalization of the Inland Empire,'' Duro said.
Cason congratulated the U.S. Air Force, the BIA and the tribe for their efforts in completing the land transfer.
''Through consultation, cooperation and communication, they have effectively brought the long and complicated process of transferring these surplus federal lands to a successful conclusion,'' Cason said.
The rest of the air base property was acquired by other local governmental entities, including the cities of Highland and San Bernardino, and San Bernardino County. The tribe will work on a government-to-government basis with the other land owners to develop the property.
Although the area fell into an economic slump when the base was closed, the existing airport has a runway system and towers, and continues to be used on a limited basis for small cargo and private jets.
Discussions are under way among all stakeholders to create a comprehensive plan for the future, tribal spokesman Jason Coin said.
''I think the prospects for growth in the area are great enough that another international airport will be justified. What's especially important is the San Manuel tribe is at the table with these other governmental entities, trying to map out what this region will look like 10 and 20 years from now. As a recognized tribal government with a stake in the property, we'll be able to help shape the environmental, economic and social future; and it's a good example of how these projects can be put together cooperatively,'' Coin said.
The land transfer process began when the tribe sought to acquire portions of Norton Air Force Base under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 after the base closed in 1994. The Air Force agreed to transfer three parcels of the surplus federal property at no cost, as stipulated in the act. The property includes the Air Combat Camera Services facility and other smaller buildings. Although the land was transferred with a waiver of fair market value, the tribe has already spent money to renovate one building to use as a training facility for tribal and local fire and safety personnel.
The 200-member tribe has an 800-acre reservation in southern California that has been home to the Serrano people for centuries before European contact. The area's first non-indigenous populations came from Spain and, later, Mexico.
The tribe has been hugely successful in its economic development projects, which include San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino; Four Fires, an economic coalition between the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians of California that developed a $43 million Marriott hotel project in Washington, D.C.; a cooperative ownership of the Twin Palms Restaurant; the San Manuel Bottled Water Group; and San Manuel Village, a real estate investment project to develop land near the San Manuel reservation into a property that will include a hotel and conference center, restaurants, retail space and offices.
In 1891, Congress authorized a 25-acre reservation for the tribe at the base of the McKinley Mountain in the San Bernardino Mountain Range. An intricate network of fault lines, including the San Andreas Fault, runs through the reservation and extends under the tribe's administrative offices. The new land is better suited for the tribe's needs and will support its effort to contribute to the local economy, according to the BIA.