The Viejas (Baron Long) Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Viejas Reservation, also called the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, is a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

Indians.

Reservations

In 1875, the Viejas Band shared the Capitan Grande Reservation along with the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians, which consisted of lands in and around the present day

El Capitan Reservoir El Capitan Reservoir is a reservoir in central San Diego County, California. It is in the Cuyamaca Mountains, about northeast of the city of San Diego and two miles northwest of the town of Alpine. The reservoir is formed by El Capitan Dam o ...

. The El Capitan Reservoir, forcibly purchased from the two tribes to provide water for

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, submerged what habitable land existed on the reservation. The two tribes jointly control this reservation. It is undeveloped but serves as an ecological preserve. The Viejas Reservation (), also known as the Baron Long Reservation, is a federal

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

located in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

, in the

Cuyamaca Mountains The Cuyamaca Mountains (Kumeyaay: ''‘Ekwiiyemak''), locally the Cuyamacas, are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, in San Diego County, southern California. The mountain range runs roughly northwest to southeast. The Laguna Mounta ...

near

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

. After the band was displaced from Capitan Grande, this new reservation was created by executive order in 1934. The reservation is about large. Approximately 289 of the 394 enrolled members live on the reservation."California Indians and Their Reservations: V."
''SDSU Library and Information Access.'' (retrieved 9 June 2010) The reservation is home to scrub oaks and chaparral. The name "Viejas" comes from the Spanish name for their land, "El Valle de Las Viejas" or "The Valley of the Old Women." In 1973, 121 of the 127 enrolled members lived on the reservation.

Government

The Viejas Band is headquartered in Alpine, California. They are governed by a democratically elected, seven-person tribal council, who serve two-year terms. Their current administration as of March 2021 is as follows: * Chairman: John Christman * Vice Chairman: Victor E. Woods * Secretary: Rene Curo * Treasurer: Samuel Q. Brown * Councilmember: Adrian M. Brown * Councilmember: Gabriel T. TeSam, Jr. * Councilmember: Kevin M. Carrizosa

Economic development

The tribe owns and operates the

Viejas Casino Viejas Casino and Resort is a hotel casino and outlet center owned by the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, located in Alpine, California. The casino has over 2,000 slot machines, up to 86 table games, three restaurants, a deli, bingo, an off-tr ...

, Grove Steakhouse, Far East Winds, Mezz Deli, Daisy's Cafe, Harvest Buffet, V Lounge, DreamCatcher Lounge, and the 57-store Viejas Outlet Center. They also own the first Native American bank in California, Borrego Springs Bank, N.A., with branches in

Borrego Springs Borrego Springs (''Borrego'', Spanish for "Sheep") is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,429 at the 2010 census, up from 2,535 at the 2000 census, made up of both seasonal and year-round resid ...

, and La Mesa. They own two recreational vehicle parks. Viejas Entertainment hosts concerts in a 1,500-seat outdoor arena and also promotes talent to casinos throughout the country. The tribe owns 50 percent of the

Broadcast Company of the Americas The Broadcast Company of the Americas, traded as BCA Radio was a broadcasting company based in the San Diego, California area. BCA Radio no longer operates any radio stations after losing its operational leases. The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay In ...

, which operates a sports talk station, The Mighty 1090-AM in

. Viejas partnered with the

Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin The Forest County Potawatomi Community ( pot, Ksenyaniyek) is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people with approximately 1,400 members as of 2010. The community is based on the Forest County Potawatomi Indian Reservation, which consis ...

, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, and the

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Serrano people in San Bernardino County, California.

of California to create Four Fires, LLC, an economic development group. A similar project, Three Fires, LCC is shared between Viejas, and the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The tribe paid San Diego State University $6 million for naming rights to the

Viejas Arena Viejas Arena (formerly Cox Arena) is the home stadium of the San Diego State Aztecs men's and women's basketball teams. It is located on the San Diego State University (SDSU) campus in San Diego, California. Viejas Arena opened in July 1997 and ...

Events

Two major annual ceremonies on the reservation are the "Clearing of the Cemetery," when tribal members clean and pay their respects at the two tribal cemeteries, and Dia de las Animas or All Souls Day.Eargle, 203

Bibliography

* Eargle, Jr., Dolan H. ''Northern California Guide: Weaving the Past and Present.'' San Francisco: Tree Company Press, 2000. . * Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. . * Shipek, Florence C. "History of Southern California Mission Indians." '' Handbook of North American Indians''. Volume ed. Heizer, Robert F. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978. 610–618. .

References

External links

Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians
official website {{authority control Kumeyaay California Mission Indians Cuyamaca Mountains Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in San Diego County, California Native American tribes in California East County (San Diego County)