Total population | |
---|---|
120 [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States (California) | |
Languages | |
Tipai, [2] English | |
Religion | |
Traditional tribal religion, Christianity (Roman Catholicism) [3] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
other Kumeyaay tribes, Cocopa, Quechan, Paipai, and Kiliwa |
The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Mission Indians from Southern California, located in an unincorporated area of San Diego County just east of El Cajon. The Sycuan band are a Kumeyaay tribe, one of the four ethnic groups indigenous to San Diego County.
The Sycuan Reservation is located at 32°46′57″N116°49′59″W / 32.78250°N 116.83306°W . The nearest outside communities are the unincorporated communities of Dehesa, Harbison Canyon and Crest.
Cody Martinez is their current tribal chairman. [4]
The band operates two waste water treatment plants, a sequencing batch reactor used for their casino, administrative buildings, and maintenance buildings. They also operate and own a modular treatment plant in a flood plain near one of their residential areas. The tribe operates a water treatment facility which controls their nitrate levels. Additionally, the tribe operates a small medical clinic, dental office, fire department and tribal police force. In 2005, they eliminated their environmental department for political and economic reasons. In 2004, they installed a new air conditioning system, internal control systems, and a new parking lot.[ citation needed ]
The move toward casino gaming on the Sycuan Band reservation was spearheaded by the Sycuan Band's former chairwoman, Anna Prieto Sandoval. [5] The Sycuan Band opened its first gambling facility, the Sycuan Bingo Palace, on their reservation in 1983. [6] As a direct evolution from that successful venture, they now run a profitable casino, as well as an off-reservation golf course. The Sycuan band is not the only San Diego-area band to operate significant commercial enterprises off-reservation.
The Sycuan band purchased the downtown San Diego landmark U. S. Grant Hotel in 2003. [7]
The band advertises heavily in relation to the San Diego Padres major-league baseball team (including both television and radio commercials during game broadcasts, and posted advertising at Petco Park, the team's home field). In 2023, Major League Soccer announced that an expansion team was granted to San Diego to begin play in 2025, bringing the league to 30 teams. The team, named San Diego FC, will be co-owned by the Sycuan band, British-Egyptian businessman Mohamed Mansour, and professional baseball player Manny Machado. [8]
A $226 million hotel casino expansion opened to the public on March 27, 2019. The casino has a total of 2800 slot machines and 80 gaming tables (blackjack, poker, etc). [9] [10]
The Sycuan band also provides an endowment to support the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming, a research institute at San Diego State University.
Kumeyaay Community College was created by the Sycuan Band to serve the Kumeyaay-Diegueño Nation, and describes its mission as "to support cultural identity, sovereignty, and self-determination while meeting the needs of native and non-Native students." In addition, the reservation is served by the Dehesa Elementary School District and Grossmont Union High School District.
The Kumeyaay, also known as 'Iipai-Tiipai or by the historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the United States. They are an indigenous people of California.
The Campo Indian Reservation is home to the Campo Band of Diegueño Mission Indians, also known as the Campo Kumeyaay Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay people in the southern Laguna Mountains, in eastern San Diego County, California. The reservation was founded in 1893 and is 16,512 acres (66.82 km2).
The Jamul Indian Village of California is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians.
Dehesa is a populated place in San Diego County, California. Dehesa is located along the Sweetwater River and Dehesa Valley between Harbison Canyon, Crest, Alpine, and Granite Hills.
The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Mission Indians with a reservation consisting of two sections, one located near the cities of Indio and Coachella in Riverside County, and the other in the city of Twentynine Palms in San Bernardino County, California. While many scholars regard the tribe as being Luiseño, the tribe itself identifies as being Chemehuevi.
The Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Riverside County, California. They were formerly known as the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians.
The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla Indians, located in Imperial and Riverside counties in California. Their autonym is Mau-Wal-Mah Su-Kutt Menyil, which means "among the palms, deer moon." in the Cahuilla language.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, United States. The main tribal groups are Cahuilla and Serrano. Tribal members also include Cupeño, Luiseño, and Chemehuevi Indians. Although many tribes in California are known as Mission Indians, some, such as those at Morongo, were never a part of the Spanish Missions in California.
The Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueño Mission Indians of the Santa Ysabel Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians.
The San Pasqual Band of Diegueño Mission Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay people, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians.
The Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indians of the Mesa Grande Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians.
The Manzanita Band of Diegueño Mission Indians of the Manzanita Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as part of the Mission Indians.
The La Posta Band of Diegueño Mission Indians of the La Posta Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of the Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians.
The Inaja Band of Diegueño Mission Indians of the Inaja and Cosmit Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians.
The Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians, formerly known as the Cuyapaipe Community of Diegueño Mission Indians of the Cuyapaipe Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians, located in San Diego County, California. "Ewiiaapaayp" is Kumeyaay for "leaning rock," a prominent feature on the reservation.
The Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Barona Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians, who are sometimes known as Mission Indians.
The Viejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Viejas Reservation, also called the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, is a federally recognized tribe of Kumeyaay Indians.
The Capitan Grande Reservation is a Kumeyaay Indian reservation in San Diego County, California, jointly controlled by the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians and Viejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians. The reservation is uninhabited and is 15,753 acres (63.75 km2) large, located in the Cuyamaca Mountains and middle of the Cleveland National Forest and west of Cuyamaca Peak. The closest town is Alpine, California.
The Table Mountain Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Native American people from the Chukchansi band of Yokuts and the Monache tribe. It is also the tribe's ranchería, located in Fresno County, California.
Anna Prieto Sandoval was an American leader of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation of Southern California and a Native American gaming enterprises pioneer. She is credited with lifting the Sycuan Band reservation, which was plagued by poverty and substandard housing, to self-sufficiency by pioneering casino gambling on the reservation.