Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation

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.

Sycuan Band
of the Kumeyaay Nation
Flag of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation
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

Reservation and administration
Location of Sycuan Reservation

The Sycuan Reservation is located at 32°46′57″N 116°49′59″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.

Economic development

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]

Hotel casino resort expansion
Notice board displayed by Sycuan Casino

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]

Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming
Main article: Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming

The Sycuan band also provides an endowment to support the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming, a research institute at San Diego State University.

Education

The 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.

See also

Notes
  1. "California Indians and Their Reservations: S. SDSU Library and Information Access. (retrieved 11 June 2010)
  2. Eargle, 202
  3. Pritzker, 147
  4. "Tribal Governments by Area." Archived 2010-05-05 at the Wayback Machine National Congress of American Indians. (retrieved 11 June 2010)
  5. Gonzalez, Blanca (2010-11-01). "Sycuan tribal elder Sandoval dies at 76, The tribal leader was instrumental in bringing gaming to reservation". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  6. Woo, Elaine (2010-11-07). "Anna Prieto Sandoval, 76; Sycuan leader was a pioneer in Indian gaming". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  7. [https://narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/documents/american_property_management.html AMERICAN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, PETITIONER, V. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF SAN DIEGO COUNTY, RESPONDENT; U.S. GRANT HOTEL VENTURES, LLC, REAL PARTY IN INTEREST. NO. D060868. MAY 24, 2012.]
  8. Hernandez, Cesar (2023-05-18). "San Diego named 30th MLS club; debut in '25". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  9. "Sycuan Hotel and Resort". www.sycuan.com. 4 June 2018.
  10. "Sycuan Casino Expansion Includes Vegas-Backed Steakhouse and Cocktail Lounge". Eater San Diego. 2 January 2019.

References
  • Eargle, Jr., Dolan H. Northern California Guide: Weaving the Past and Present. San Francisco: Tree Company Press, 2000. ISBN 0-937401-10-2.
  • Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.
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