November 10, 2026 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) introduced legislation to transfer 847 acres of federal land from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) into trust for the Barona Band of Mission Indians. Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.-48) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

The Barona Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized Tribe in San Diego County, which was forced out of their first federally established reservation when the City of San Diego bought a portion of the Capitan Grande Reservation from the federal government to build a reservoir. After the reservation was flooded, the Tribe purchased the Barona property to create their current reservation. The Barona Tribe and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians also share a joint-trust patent to jointly manage the remaining 15,000 acres of the Capitan Grande Reservation surrounding the reservoir.

The proposed parcels in the bill are adjacent to the existing 7,500-acre Barona Indian Reservation near Ramona in San Diego County and have deep cultural and historical significance to the Tribe. Adding this land into trust would connect land between the Barona Indian Reservation and the Capitan Grande Reservation. The bill would preserve existing rights-of-way, public recreational access and public trails, emergency access for federal personnel, and existing water rights and service agreements.

“The Barona Band of Mission Indians have consistently fought to unify their ancestral home — and it’s past time we restore and reunify their lands to protect and preserve their sacred sites,” said Senator Padilla. “My bill would transfer over 840 acres of federal land to connect the Barona Indian Reservation and the Capitan Grande Reservation and better protect sacred sites, traditional use areas, and cultural resources on ancestral land.”

“I am proud to join Senator Padilla in introducing legislation that will restore historical and ancestral land to the Barona Band of Mission Indians who have fought to regain their land after being pushed out,” said Senator Schiff. “This commonsense legislation is a pivotal step in supporting tribal conservation and cultural preservation.”

“For generations, our people have been separated from the lands that hold our history, our ceremonies, and our sacred places. Today, that separation begins to end. This legislation is the bridge to Capitan Grande, a land bridge that reconnects Barona with our ancestral home,” said Barona Chairman Raymond Welch. “We are grateful to Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Adam Schiff, and Congressman Darrell Issa for listening to our people and working together across the aisle to make this possible. By placing this land in trust, they have honored our past and strengthened our future.”

Padilla is a strong advocate for restoring Tribal ownership of ancestral lands. Last month, the Senate unanimously passed Padilla’s Pit River Land Transfer Act, a bicameral and bipartisan bill to promote Tribal management of over 500 acres of land in California by transferring federal land to the Pit River Tribe. In July, Padilla testified at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing to advocate for critical water investments for California Tribes. In March, Padilla and Schiff introduced legislation to transfer 860 acres of land from the BLM into trust for the Pechanga Band of Indians.

Last year, Padilla and Schiff announced a trio of bipartisan, bicameral bills to promote Tribal management of over 2,000 acres of land in California by transferring federal land to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the Pit River Tribe, and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. In 2024, the Senate passed of a pair of Padilla’s bills to support the restoration of Tribal lands for the Jamul Indian Village and the Lytton Rancheria of California, the first of which became law. 

Full text of the bill is available here.

Source: Senator Alex Padilla