LEGISLATION TO AFFIRM BIA DECISION TO PLACE CAMP 4 IN FEDERAL TRUST INTRODUCED
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Veronica Sandoval
(805) 688-7997
WASHINGTON, D.C. — January 09, 2019 — Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, announced today that legislation to affirm Camp 4’s trust status was introduced recently.
H.R. 317 was introduced into Congress on January 8, 2019, by Congressmen Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Salud Carbajal (D-CA). Congressman LaMalfa is the former Chair of the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs while Carbajal represents Santa Barbara County in Congress.
H.R. 317 will protect the tribe’s 1,400 acres of land in Santa Ynez and affirm the Bureau of Indians Affairs (BIA) January 19, 2017 decision to place that land, known as Camp 4, in federal trust.
“We continue to seek the opportunity to place our Camp 4 property in federal trust through legislation,” said Chairman Kahn. “We were successful in placing Camp 4 in federal trust through the BIA’s administrative process, and we’re confident that with the progress we’ve made over the last two years, the legislative process will be just as successful.”
That progress includes an Intergovernmental Memorandum of Agreement between the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the tribe, Chairman Kahn’s testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and the committee’s subsequent unanimous approval of the Land Affirmation Act of 2017.
Tribal governments can petition to add land to their reservation through an administrative process under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. That act was adopted by Congress as a means to promote native self-governance.
Camp 4 will be used for housing for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ membership as it plans to build 143 housing units and a small Tribal Administrative building while protecting the vast majority of the property as agricultural land or environmental open space.
“Our main focus for Camp 4 is housing,” explained Chairman Kahn. “Our current reservation is one of the smallest in the country and only provides enough space for 17% of our tribal membership to live. It is our inherent right to secure Camp 4 as part of our reservation to restore tribal homelands, promote self-determination, and bring many of our members back home.”
The Santa Ynez Reservation is located in Santa Barbara County and was established and officially recognized by the federal government on December 27, 1901. Today, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians remains the only federally recognized Chumash tribe in the nation.