The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians welcomed a new addition to its reservation on Jan. 20, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) placed the 1,400-acre Camp 4 parcel into federal trust. The county plans to resist the decision through federal litigation.
The tribe’s years-long federal trust process has spurred public terms negotiations with an ad hoc subcommittee from the county Board of Supervisors and ignited pushback from local land preservation groups. Though the Chumash didn’t reach an official agreement with the county regarding tax reimbursement, environmental impact mitigation, and other areas of contention before the BIA’s decision, tribal Chairman Kenneth Kahn said the negotiations could continue.
“I know the county is discussing their position, and we’ll continue to work with them and move forward,” Kahn told the Sun. “We’re looking forward to continuing the dialogue.”
Alongside its negotiations with the county, the tribe has since 2013 pursued two avenues for taking Camp 4 into trust: the administrative process and the legislative process. After years of approvals and appeals, on Jan. 20—Inauguration Day—the administrative process pulled through.
“We’re very excited,” Kahn said. “It’s been a long time coming, with a lot of hard work. I still want to continue with my commitment to do the best job that we can, sharing information when it comes to this process. Educating the community on the legislative process and the administrative process is a very important piece, and we’ll continue to try and do that.”
Camp 4 will be used for tribe member housing and a tribal center, though Kahn said there isn’t a scheduled groundbreaking for the housing projects yet.
“Tribal housing on tribal land is an important component of strengthening the cultural connections of the tribe and being able to provide the opportunity to celebrate our customs, language, and tradition,” he said. “We’ve worked very hard for this day, and it’s very emotional.”
In a statement released on the evening of Jan. 23, 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann—who will serve alongside 1st District Supervisor Das Williams on the county’s new Chumash ad hoc subcommittee—confirmed that the county will initiate federal litigation, as the Board of Supervisors pre-emptively decided in a closed session vote at its Jan. 10 meeting.
In an interview with the Sun prior to the BIA’s decision, Hartmann said she and Williams would need time to get up to speed on tribal issues before continuing with negotiations for Camp 4.
“We’re both new to this,” she said. “I’ve attended the meetings as an observer, as a member of the public, but unlike Chairman Kahn, who as tribal vice chair was deeply involved in the preparation of all the ad hoc meetings that have occurred to date, both Supervisor Williams and I are newcomers. This is a very complex area.”
Hartmann pointed out that the board’s first agenda item of the year centered on tribal issues, since the supervisors discussed litigation against the BIA in closed session on Jan. 10.
“It is the highest priority for the board and for the ad hoc committee,” she said.
Hartmann said that because litigation matters are exempt from public meetings under the Brown Act, the county’s ongoing litigation with the BIA allowed the board to discuss Chumash-related issues in closed session.
“We do have litigation, the county versus the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” Hartmann said. “That allowed us to be in closed session.”
Hartmann’s statement said that as the new federal litigation develops in response to the BIA’s decision to put Camp 4 into federal trust, she hopes to continue meeting with the tribe through the ad hoc subcommittee.
“We all love the Santa Ynez Valley where we live,” Hartmann told the Sun. “We’re neighbors. It’s really important that we find common ground, because there’s nothing as distressing as to have neighbors that have conflict.”
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 2, 2017.