After a decades-long struggle between tribal leaders and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) the sacred Indigenous site of Puvungna will be granted permanent protection.
The settlement requires the university to record a Declaration of Restrictive Covenant that would bar them from developing or damaging the land.
The settlement agreement was made on Monday, Sept 13 stemming from a 2019 lawsuit by the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation – Belardes and the California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance.
“I have a sense of relief, I have a sense of pride and I have a sense of hope,” said Joyce Stanfield Perry, cultural resource director for the Tribe.
The lawsuit came after the university dumped dirt and debris on the Native American sacred site from a nearby construction area.
The 22-acre parcel of land at CSULB is culturally, historically, and spiritually significant for the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation – Belardes, the Gabrielino/Tongva people and other Native American groups in Southern California.
“This agreement honors the land and it honors the people who have been fighting to protect Puvungna for 30 years,” said Juaneño Band Chairman Matias Belardes in a statement.
The covenant allows California Native American Tribes and affiliated groups to continue to use the land for ceremonial, religious or tribal activities.
“This victory honors our history and it protects our religious and cultural practices on Puvungna into the future,” Belardes said.
The construction of temporary or permanent structures or improvements like parking lots or classrooms is also prohibited under the covenant, as is the dumping of construction debris or materials.
Also prohibited is the installation of landscaping (with the exception of certain native plants), use of pesticides on the land, storage of construction equipment, parking of vehicles and operation of heavy machinery.
“This victory honors our history and it protects our religious and cultural practices on Puvungna into the future.”
–Juaneño Band Chairman Matias Belardes
Improvements that would restrict or prohibit access to California Native American Tribes and affiliated groups to the land for cultural, ceremonial or religious purposes are also banned.
However, the covenant allows necessary maintenance on the land such as trash removal and landscaping maintenance; maintaining utilities and protecting public safety—like responding to a brush fire.
The covenant binds the university and any future owners to follow its restrictions.
In the next two years, CSU will need to make a “good faith effort” to establish a conservation easement that would shift care of the land to a manager, who will be agreed upon by the petitioners.
“We are pleased with the settlement agreement as it is consistent with our stated interest and intent to protect this land from development,” Jeff Cook, chief communications officer at CSULB, said in an email to the Signal Tribune.
Cook noted that the university will have additional comment in late October once all aspects of the agreement are finalized.
According to the settlement, a legal description must be prepared within 20 days of the declaration and a record of the declaration must be executed and filed with the county within 10 days after the legal description is approved.
Perry said in a statement that members of the tribe will stay engaged in implementing the terms of [the] settlement.
“We’re happy that we’re making progress,” Perry said to the Signal Tribune. “And institutions such as universities and state agencies understand the importance of our existence, why we persist and how rich our history actually is.”
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