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107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2619
To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the Gabrieleno/Tongva
Nation as a distinct federally recognized Indian tribe and to restore
aboriginal rights, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 24, 2001
Ms. SOLIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To reaffirm and clarify the Federal relationship of the
Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation as a distinct federally recog-
nized Indian tribe and to restore aboriginal rights, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gabrieleno/Tongva Na-
tion Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
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(1) The United States Government has had
continuous dealings with the Gabrieleno/Tongva Na-
tion from 1771 until at least 1961. The Gabrieleno/
Tongva Nation is the descendant of, and political
successor to, the signatories of the June 10, 1851,
Fort Tejon Treaty.
(2) The Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation traditionally
occupied the entire Los Angeles Basin and the is-
lands of Santa Catalina, San Nicholas, and San
Clemente, from Topanga Canyon to Laguna Beach,
from the San Gabriel Mountains to the sea, in most
of what is now Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
(3) Several Federal officials have in the past
recognized the Nation. In 1851 and 1852, the
United States Government sent Commissioner
Barbour to treat with the Indians of Los Angeles,
but he was called away. Also in 1852, Super-
intendent of Indian Affairs E.F. Beale noted a nu-
merous Indian population within Los Angeles Coun-
ty. In 1855, Superintendent of Indian Affairs Hen-
ley noted that the Indians in and around Los Ange-
les should be moved to a reservation. Records show
that a small number of the Nation lived at the Se-
bastian Reserve at the Tejon Pass, part of Los An-
geles County. In the 1870s former Mission Indian
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Agent J.Q. Stanley noted the grievances of the Indi-
ans living at Mission San Gabriel.
(4) Scholars and academics have also noted the
existence of the Nation. Helen Hunt Jackson, in the
mid-1880s noted that the Gabrieleno/Tongva were
continuing to live in the San Gabriel area where
many worked as day laborers. At the turn of the
century, C. Hart Merriam and J.P. Harrington indi-
cated that there were some groups of the Nation liv-
ing at the Tejon Reservation, and further noted that
one of the tribes represented at the reservation was
the ‘‘Tongva of San Gabriel’’.
(5) In the early 1900s, the Federal Government
allowed Nation members, most of whom were of one-
half Indian blood, to register at the Sherman Indian
School in Riverside, California.
(6) The United States purchased land for the
Nation in 1913 according to the Kelsey Map of Indi-
ans of California, which indicates a symbol cor-
responding to ‘‘lands recently purchased’’ at the site
of San Gabriel.
(7) By 1928, many Nation members were still
living in their traditional area of San Gabriel and
identifying themselves as tribal members, as evi-
denced by the California Indians’ Jurisdictional Act.
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This Act authorized the Secretary to create a roll of
California Indians for payment purposes. There are
at least 150 Gabrieleno/Tongvas on this roll, ap-
proximately fifty with one-half degree Indian blood
or more, and 128 of at least one-quarter Indian
blood.
(8) The Nation’s membership has historically
included and presently includes a verifiable half-
blood community, which is eligible for organization
under section 19 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25
U.S.C. 479, commonly referred to as the Indian Re-
organization Act), but the Bureau of Indian Affairs
ignored the half-blood community and led the Nation
to believe that it could not organize as a half-blood
community.
(9) The Nation has been politically active at the
national level via the Mission Indian Federation,
which lobbied the Congress for various Indian causes
from the 1920s to the 1950s. The Nation was also
a plaintiff in an Indian Claims Commission case in
1949. Forty-six bands filed suit, including the
Tongva. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved con-
tracts for each band and included the Nation in all
negotiations. After twelve years, all 46 bands were
required to vote on a settlement, and the registers
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of voters indicated that the Nation members who
voted at these meetings were, or are, relatives of
presentday tribal members.
(10) The State of California recognized the
Gabrieleno/Tongva in 1994, stating, ‘‘The State of
California . . . takes pride in recognizing the Indian
inhabitants of the Los Angeles Basin and the contin-
ued existence of the Indian community within our
State’’. (‘‘Certificate of Recognition’’, signed by Cali-
fornia Assembly member Diane Martinez, 1994).
Furthermore, the city of San Gabriel recognizes the
Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation.
(11) The Nation has maintained its distinct
community on its ancestral lands in San Gabriel and
has maintained its unique culture and identity and
maintains governance through a viable tribal govern-
ment and a constitution and bylaws.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) MEMBER.—The term ‘‘member’’ means
those individuals enrolled in the Nation pursuant to
section 6.
(2) NATION.—The term ‘‘Nation’’ means the
Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation.
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(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
(a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—Federal recognition of
the Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation is hereby affirmed. All laws
and regulations of the United States of general application
to Indians or nations, tribes, or bands of Indians, includ-
ing the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.),
which are inconsistent with any specific provision of this
Act shall not be applicable to the Nation and its members.
Such laws and regulations which are not inconsistent with
any specific provision of this Act shall be applicable to the
Nation and its members.
(b) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Nation and its members
shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided
by the Federal Government to Indians because of
their status as federally recognized Indians, and not-
withstanding any other provision of law, such serv-
ices and benefits shall be provided after the date of
the enactment of this Act to the Nation and its
members without regard to the existence of a res-
ervation for the Nation or the location of the resi-
dence of any member on or near any Indian reserva-
tion.
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(2) SERVICE AREAS.—For purposes of the de-
livery of Federal services to the enrolled members of
the Nation, the service area shall consist of Los An-
geles County and portions of Ventura and Orange
Counties. Such services shall be provided notwith-
standing the establishment of a reservation for the
Nation after the date of enactment of this Act. Serv-
ices may be provided to members outside the named
service areas unless prohibited by law or regulation.
SEC. 5. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—All rights and privileges of the
Nation and its members, which may have been abrogated
or diminished before the date of the enactment of this Act,
are hereby reaffirmed and restored.
(b) EXISTING RIGHTS OF NATION.—Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to diminish any right or privilege
of the Nation or of its members that existed before the
date of the enactment of this Act. Except as otherwise
specifically provided in any other provision of this Act,
nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering or affect-
ing any legal or equitable claim the Nation may have to
enforce any right or privilege reserved by or granted to
the Nation which was wrongfully denied or taken from the
Nation before the date of the enactment of this Act.
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SEC. 6. TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Nation shall submit to the Secretary
a membership roll consisting of all individuals currently
enrolled for membership in the Nation. The qualifications
for inclusion on the membership roll of the Nation shall
be determined by the membership clauses in the Nation’s
governing document. Upon completion of the roll, the Sec-
retary shall immediately publish notice of such in the Fed-
eral Register. The Nation shall ensure that such roll is
maintained and kept current.
SEC. 7. TRIBAL LANDS.
The Nation’s tribal lands shall consist of all real
property, now or hereafter held by, or in trust for, the
Nation. The Secretary shall acquire real property for the
Nation. Any such property shall be taken by the Secretary
in the name of the United States in trust for the benefit
of the Nation and shall become part of the Nation’s res-
ervation.
SEC. 8. CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNING BODY.
(a) CONSTITUTION.—
(1) ADOPTION.—Not later than 24 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall conduct, by secret ballot, elections for
the purpose of adopting a new constitution for the
Nation. The elections shall be held in accordance
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with the procedures applicable to elections under
section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C.
476).
(2) INTERIM
GOVERNING
DOCUMENTS.—Until
such time as a new constitution is adopted under
paragraph (1), the governing documents in effect on
the date of the enactment of this Act shall be the
interim governing documents for the Nation.
(b) OFFICIALS.—
(1) ELECTIONS.—Not later than 6 months
after the Nation adopts their constitution pursuant
to subsection (a), the Nation shall conduct elections
by secret ballot for the purpose of electing officials
for the Nation as provided in the Nation’s governing
constitution. The elections shall be conducted ac-
cording to the procedures described in the Nation’s
constitution.
(2) INTERIM GOVERNMENTS.—Until such time
as the Nation elects new officials pursuant to para-
graph (1), the Nation’s governing bodies shall be
those bodies in place on the date of the enactment
of this Act, or any new governing bodies selected
under the election procedures specified in the respec-
tive interim governing documents of the Nation.
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SEC. 9. JURISDICTION.
The Nation shall have jurisdiction to the full extent
allowed by law over all lands taken into trust for the ben-
efit of the Nation by the Secretary. The Nation shall exer-
cise jurisdiction over all its members who reside within the
service area in matters pursuant to the Indian Child Wel-
fare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), as if the mem-
bers were residing upon a reservation, as defined in that
Act.
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