WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) introduced legislation to transfer 847 acres of federal land from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) into trust for the Barona Band of Mission Indians. Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.-48) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
The Barona Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in San Diego County, which was forced out of their first federally established reservation when the City of San Diego bought a portion of the Capitan Grande Reservation from the federal government to build a reservoir. After the reservation was flooded, the tribe purchased the Barona property to create their current reservation. The Barona Tribe and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians also share a joint-trust patent to jointly manage the remaining 15,000 acres of the Capitan Grande Reservation surrounding the reservoir.
The proposed parcels in the bill are adjacent to the existing 7,500-acre Barona Indian Reservation near Ramona in San Diego County and have deep cultural and historical significance to the tribe. Adding this land into trust would connect land between the Barona Indian Reservation and the Capitan Grande Reservation. The bill would preserve existing rights-of-way, public recreational access and public trails, emergency access for federal personnel, and existing water rights and service agreements.
“The Barona Band of Mission Indians have consistently fought to unify their ancestral home – and it’s past time we restore and reunify their lands to protect and preserve their sacred sites,” said Senator Padilla. “My bill would transfer over 840 acres of federal land to connect the Barona Indian Reservation and the Capitan Grande Reservation and better protect sacred sites, traditional use areas, and cultural resources on ancestral land.”
“I am proud to join Senator Padilla in introducing legislation that will restore historical and ancestral land to the Barona Band of Mission Indians who have fought to regain their land after being pushed out,” said Senator Schiff. “This commonsense legislation is a pivotal step in supporting tribal conservation and cultural preservation.”
“For generations, our people have been separated from the lands that hold our history, our ceremonies, and our sacred places. Today, that separation begins to end. This legislation is the bridge to Capitan Grande, a land bridge that reconnects Barona with our ancestral home,” said Barona Chairman Raymond Welch. “We are grateful to Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Adam Schiff, and Congressman Darrell Issa for listening to our people and working together across the aisle to make this possible. By placing this land in trust, they have honored our past and strengthened our future.”
Padilla has advocated for restoring tribal ownership of ancestral lands. Last month, the Senate unanimously passed his Pit River Land Transfer Act, which would transfer more than 500 acres of federal land to the Pit River Tribe. He has also advocated for water investments for California tribes and, with Schiff, introduced legislation to transfer 860 acres of federal land into trust for the Pechanga Band of Indians.
Last year, Padilla and Schiff announced three bipartisan, bicameral bills to transfer more than 2,000 acres of federal land to California tribes. In 2024, the Senate passed two Padilla bills to restore tribal lands for the Jamul Indian Village and Lytton Rancheria of California, with the Jamul legislation later becoming law.