# ![](media/image1.png){width="6.416666666666667in" height="1.292361111111111in"}

Office of the Assistant Secretary -- Indian Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Nedra Darling

November 29**,** 2005 202-219-4152

**BIA Completes Transfer of Surplus Air Base Lands to**

**San Manuel Band of Mission Indians**

***Ceremony concluding transfer also celebrates return of tribe's
ancestral lands***

# 

*Note to Editors*: A photo of the land transfer signing ceremony may be
viewed at [www.doi.gov](http://www.doi.gov/).

**PALA, Calif. --** During a visit to the Pala Indian Reservation in
Southern California today, Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E.
Cason announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has completed
the transfer of 18 acres of land from a former United States Air Force
base located near the City of San Bernadino, Calif., to the San Manuel
Band of Mission Indians, a federally recognized Serrano tribe
headquartered in Patton, Calif. Cason was in attendance at a signing
ceremony for the final transaction in a process that has returned to the
San Manuel tribe lands that were a part of its ancestral land base. He
was joined at the event by San Manuel Vice Chairman Henry Duro, San
Manuel tribal officials and other officials from the Department of the
Interior.

"I congratulate the United States Air Force, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians for their hard work
and determination," Cason said. "Through consultation, cooperation and
communication, they have effectively brought the long and complicated
process of transferring these surplus Federal lands to a successful
conclusion."

The area where the 200-member San Manuel tribe is located is known as
the Inland Empire. Although home to the Serrano people for centuries,
the region's non-Indian population came first from Spain, then Mexico.
In January 1891, Congress authorized the establishment of a 25-acre
reservation for the tribe located at the base of McKinley Mountain in
the San Bernadino Mountain Range. A major geological feature of the San
Manuel Reservation is the web of fault lines that runs through it,
including the San Andreas Fault which extends under the tribe's
administrative offices. The new land is better suited for the tribe's
needs and will support its efforts to contribute to the local economy.

"This is a joyous day for the San Manuel people," Duro said. "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 region."

**-Continued-**

**San Manuel -- Page 2**

Today's ceremony capped a process that started 10 years ago when the San
Manuel tribe sought to acquire portions of the Norton Air Force Base
after its closing in 1994. The Air Force agreed to a no-cost transfer of
three parcels of the surplus Federal property, which includes the Air
Combat Camera facility and other, smaller buildings, for the tribe's
benefit in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act of 1949.

Although the parcels received a waiver of fair market value, the
transaction has not been without cost to the tribe. The tribe has
already renovated one building, using it as a training facility for
tribal and local fire and safety personnel, but the Air Combat Camera
facility will require significant investment to render it useable. The
lands are being transferred through the BIA under the authority of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.

**-DOI-**