Pechanga Absconds with Cultural Remains of Tongva People

We've written on Pechanga inserting themselves into Gabrieleno Tongva business, the have NO Cultural Affiliation  with San Nicolas, yet they worked to keep the tribes that DO have it, from their rightful repatriation of the remains.


Many archaeologists who are knowledgeable about the earliest inhabitants of the Channel Islands say a preponderance of skeletal and DNA data affiliates the island with Gabrielino Tongva Indians, who occupied the greater Los Angeles Basin and the southern three islands: Santa Catalina, San Clemente and San Nicolas. The Navy DEEMED them Luiseno??

The VCSTAR reports

After years of consultation and trips to museums, hundreds of human remains and burial objects removed from San Nicolas Island soon will be returned to California tribes.

For decades, those remains have been kept in museums and collections throughout the state after excavations that date back to the late 1800s. Over the past several years, the Navy, and tribal leaders have worked to bring them to one spot. 

The goal: a final trip to San Nicolas and reburial.

Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro described the repatriation process as allowing tribal communities to reclaim their ancestors and finally put them to rest.

“To us, they are our relations that deserve the dignity of being reinterred and cared for under tribal custom and tradition,” said Macarro, in a letter to then-Gov. Jerry Brown last year about the issue.

In 2015, the federal government published notice of a determination that the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians were culturally affiliated with San Nicolas Island, now Navy-owned. The island is about 65 miles off Ventura County.

Pechanga should BUTT out, give way to the rightful descendants of San Nicolas...