Congressman Mike Honda (D-San Jose) has sponsored legislation
that could fast-track federal recognition of the local Amah Mutsun
Indian Tribe and hasten development plans for Sargent Ranch, more
than 6,000 pristine acres northwest of Hollister that make up the
tribe’s ancestral lands.
By Serdar Tumgoren Staff Writer
Congressman Mike Honda (D-San Jose) has sponsored legislation that could fast-track federal recognition of the local Amah Mutsun Indian Tribe and hasten development plans for Sargent Ranch, more than 6,000 pristine acres northwest of Hollister that make up the tribe’s ancestral lands.
The bill comes less than a year after local outcry over rumors that Honda planned to sponsor legislation that would allow the tribe to bypass the normal recognition process, a lengthy and rigorous review at the hands of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
If approved, Honda’s bill would still require the tribe to undergo BIA scrutiny, but it would force the backlogged agency to make a final decision on the tribe’s petition for acknowledgment within one year. Without the legislation, the tribe faces a decade or longer before its petition comes up for review.
Honda, who submitted the bill just three days before congress broke for summer recess, could not be reached for comment.
Irenne Zwierlein, a Woodside resident who heads one of two rival councils claiming to represent the 500-plus members of the tribe, said she has met with the congressman on numerous occasions. Her dealings with Honda on tribal affairs reach as far back as the early ’90s, when he served as a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
“I have been working with Honda since 1993,” Zwierlein said. “He’s a man of his word and he did exactly what he said he was going to do.”
Valentin Lopez, leader of a tribal council also claiming to represent the tribe, expressed dismay that Honda’s office did not notify his group of the bill, but saw hope in it for a swifter resolution of the tribe’s leadership dispute.
“An issue with the BIA has been the incredibly long time frames for their recognition reviews,” he said. “We support a timely and thorough review of each petition. We are sure a thorough review will recognize us as the legitimate tribe.”
The Amah Mutsun band originally notified the BIA of its intent to apply for recognition in 1991. The tribe splintered in 2000 when Zwierlein, who headed the once-unified tribal council, resigned and formed her own governing body.
The rival leaders have vastly different visions for the tribe’s ancestral lands.
Lopez and his faction have pledged to preserve the rolling hills and streams that make up Sargent Ranch as open space. Zwierlein’s faction, meanwhile, has forged a multi-million-dollar pact with La Jolla developer Wayne Pierce to open the land for development. Under an economic plan submitted to the BIA, Pierce would cede the tribe 3,500 acres of land to place in trust under tribal law in exchange for $21 million for a cultural center and 500 acres for tribal homes. In return, the tribe would lease back 3,000 acres to Pierce to allow him to develop.
The deal emerged a few years after the developer’s initial proposals to build golf courses and hillside homes met with strong opposition from county officials. Earlier in the year, Pierce shifted his development plans to senior housing or congregate care facilities.
The entire deal hinges on the tribe gaining federal recognition and placing the land under tribal sovereignty, outside the control of county supervisors.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, whose district includes Sargent Ranch, said the tribe “certainly deserves to get recognized. I can’t deny that. They’ve been working at it a long time. But I’m very skeptical about the (development of the land).”
While Pierce has thrown considerable financial support behind Zwierlein, it remains unclear which faction the BIA will choose to work with. Top officials at the agency have said they would select one leader as the legitimate tribal representative when the petition comes up for review. Pierce could not be reached for comment.
Honda’s legislation joins a similar bill, introduced in February by Congressman Richard Pombo (R-Tracy), that would give BIA officials one year to issue final rulings on 10 tribal petitions that have collected dust for more than a decade.
Pombo has joined a growing chorus of BIA critics who say the recognition process takes too long and is often arbitrary. As chairman of the House Resources Committee, Pombo controls oversight over any legislation affecting tribal affairs. He could not be reached for comment.
