Recent Discovery Called Unparalleled in San Diego County

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians has been granted a restraining order in Superior Court of California-San Diego County to halt the Padre Dam Municipal Water District from further desecrating a recently-unearthed Kumeyaay burial and ceremonial ground. In a hearing June 7, Judge Judith Hayes ordered the District to avoid construction over roughly two-thirds of the construction site until at least June 25 when the hearing for a permanent injunction is scheduled. A representative for the California Attorney General’s office appeared at today’s hearing and spoke in favor of the restraining order. The District agreed to continue to use a Native American monitor and to allow Viejas the opportunity to view site activities.

On June 17, the California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) is scheduled to hear testimony about the importance of cultural resources at the site. That is a continuation of the Commission’s first hearing, which was held on April 6, 2010.

If the Commission makes findings that the site is a sanctified cemetery, and that the project will irreparably harm the site, the Commission may issue recommendations for mitigating impacts to the site, which could include complete avoidance of the entire site. If the District ignores the recommendations and proceeds with the current project, the NAHC will then be in the position to request that the state Attorney General initiate legal action against the District.

Padre Dam Municipal Water District is constructing a new reservoir and pumping station at the site, which is on approximately two acres south of I-8 near Lake Jennings Park Road and Old Highway 80.

Qualified Native American Monitors and experts hired by the District in 2007 to conduct the initial investigations of tribal cultural resources warned of the cultural significance of the site and recommended the District avoid it. However, the District approved the project without revealing this information to tribes and the public. In its environmental review document the District said the project would not have any potentially significant adverse effects on cultural resources. Subsequent investigations have proven those claims to be wrong.

Human remains and a very high density of burned pottery sherds were later uncovered at the site, indicating a sacred burial ground and ceremonial place where cremated Native Americans were buried in sacred pottery urns.

In documenting the discovered cultural resources at the site, a data recovery report prepared for the District by its experts called the discovery “unparalleled in the San Diego region” and said the site contained “one of the highest densities of Native American ceramic sherds ever found in San Diego County,” which has 19,000 recorded archaeological sites.

Although only approximately 6 percent of the site was recovered, the District’s report already details the significance of the discovery:

*   14 human bones belonging to at least 3-8 individuals have been positively identified by the Coroner, dating to A. D. 780 - 1910.
*   204 other bone fragments are considered either likely to be human or have yet to be assessed but were treated as though they were human. (Fragmented remains are typical of the traditional cremation practices of local Indian Bands.)
*   The District’s report also says that the human remains found during excavations at the site were mostly “burned during cremation” and that the “calcined bones may have come from human cremations given the large amounts of burned pottery and other burial artifacts that may have been grave goods.” (Actual quotes from Padre Dam Water District’s Data Recovery Report, August 2009.)

The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, who have been designated as the most likely descendents of those who are buried at the site, requested that the District fully assess the site and construction plans in order to prevent further desecration of the sacred site. The Band also agreed to work with the District to review other alternative sites that had been considered by the District.

The Padre Dam Municipal Water District, however, unilaterally declared on May 21, 2010, that it would not wait for the Heritage Commission ruling, would not fully assess the cultural resource status of the site, would not plan on avoiding or recovering the tribal cultural resources on the other 94 percent of the property and would immediately resume construction. According to the District's own reports, the proposed construction work would effectively result in total destruction of the prehistoric archaeological site.

Attorneys for the Viejas Band sought the restraining order against the Padre Dam Municipal Water District to halt construction until the matter is decided by the Native American Heritage Commission and the District complies with California law.

Viejas Tribal Chairman Bobby L. Barrett said, “This site is sacred to our people, and it is culturally and historically significant for all residents of San Diego County and southern California. From the beginning, our request of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District has been reasonable: simply complete a full assessment of cultural resources on the current site to help us better understand the extent to which tribal cultural resources may be present throughout the property. This would seem entirely reasonable given that the District’s own report recognizes the immense historic and cultural significance of what has already been discovered – and that report only covers a six percent sample of the site. Until there’s a full assessment, we don’t know what, if any, other options exist for onsite project redesign. The District also previously considered three other alternative sites, and we continue to offer to work with them to further assess those and other sites as possible options. To move forward and desecrate this sacred burial ground would dishonor those who have been laid to rest there. It would also dishonor their living relatives and everyone in San Diego County who appreciates the cultural and historical significance of this site.”