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Government blocks
CSULB land-lock issues
By Kimberly Pasquis
On-line Forty-Niner
Many students see
the vacant land behind Lot 20 at Cal State Long Beach as an
ideal spot for another parking structure or more dorm buildings.
What they fail to realize or understand is that it is sacred
land to the indigenous people of the Gabrielino/Tongva territory.
The site is called Puvungna, the remaining 22-acres of burial
grounds of what once was home to the Native Americans of the
Los Angeles basin.
In 1993 university officials wanted to lease the land to be
for commercial use, according to Eugene Ruyle, professor of
anthropology. Native Americans, with the backing of the American
Civil Liberties Union, went to court against the Board of
Trustees. An injunction was obtained to prevent any excavation
of the land.
The case was tried and appealed up until 1995 when Robert
Maxson became president of CSULB. Maxson said that he did
not want a strip mall to be built, so in essence the Native
Americans won their case. The Puvungna case was based on the
grounds that the strip mall was in violation of public interest
law. The public interest law states that the public agency
has to pay the court fees of the plaintiffs. The Board of
Trustees has never paid or acknowledged their responsibility
to pay.
Colleen Bentley-Adler, director of public affairs for the
Chancellor's Office, said the case was closed and nothing
was pending in regards to a lawsuit.
However, Ruyle said the case is still open because nothing
has been settled. It is a subject that has been stalemated,
but the Save Puvungna organization wants it to be an active
subject again.
Protection of Puvungna is important to the group because there
has been a history destruction to similar sites of Native
American land in this area. In 1953, while building the Los
Altos Shopping Center, 20 human remains were collected and
have yet to be returned to their native tribes.
"That type of site should have been kept untouched,"
said Keith Polakoff, vice president of academic affairs. "The
site should have been preserved."
Polakoff also serves as a voting member for the Native American
Burial Remains and Cultural Patrimony Committee.
Even with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act, which requires the return of human remains to their native
tribes, great difficulty has been met because the federal
government does not recognize the Native Americans in this
area. The California version of the law failed to pass in
this past session of the California legislature which would
speed up the repatriation process even more.
"It has been a very slow process because in dealing with
the federal government you are dealing with the intricacies
with bureaucracy," Polakoff said.
The Save Puvungna organization said it would like to be able
to identify an area on Puvungna to rebury the remains.
For any other progress towards the use of the land, the court
case with the Board of Trustees must become void. No grants
can be obtained until that happens. A residue of hostility
still exists between some CSULB officials, which makes progress
more difficult.
The portion of the land between Lot 20 and the Earl Warren
Japanese Gardens has been used for overflow parking in recent
months, which is a violation of the injunction. This subject
has not been actively pursued by the Save Puvungna organization.
"It is state land and part of the campus," Ruyle
said. "We would like the university to recognize the
tremendous educational opportunity Puvungna can offer."
The Save Puvungna organization is currently resurfacing a
master plan for an American Indian cultural center. The organization
would like to do something with the land so people still have
access to it.
Puvungna has attracted people that are not of Native American
ancestry.
"Puvungna has taken on a life of its own," according
to Ruyle.
Poems are written and attached to a large tree on the land.
Someone has attached a swing to the same tree. It holds sentimental
value to other members of the community and Native Americans
would like to use it for educational purposes. Members of
the organization said they would like it to be more than just
an empty lot of land.
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