Washington, DC – Legislation sponsored by Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) to place more than 700 acres of sacred land into tribal trust is now law after being signed by the President.
The Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2023 (H.R. 423) incorporates 720 acres of ancestral land in San Diego County into the Pala Band of Mission Indians’ reservation, protecting the land from development and preserving historic sites for years to come.
“With the enactment of the Pala Act, historic lands belonging to the Pala Tribe will now be preserved in perpetuity. I am proud to partner with the Pala Tribe on this important step to protect their lands and safeguard their culture for future generations.”
The property includes the remaining portion of San Diego County’s Gregory Mountain that is not on the existing Pala reservation. In a 2019 testimony before the House of Representatives, Pala Band Chairman Robert Smith stated that the land was historically occupied by Native peoples and is a site of an ancestral village, rock art paintings, artifacts, and more culturally meaningful components.
The bill passed the House and Senate with wide bipartisan support.
The full bill text can be found here.
Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 48th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, Poway, Temecula, Murrieta, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.
