Long BeachThe fate of sacred land led about 50 people to march near California State University Long Beach’s campus on Friday, May 21.
Those people were supporters of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation. The tribe has been enmeshed for decades in a fight over the land, called Puvungna, on the university’s campus.
The marchers walked to the Traffic Circle and back on Friday afternoon, before gathering at Puvungna for a closing prayer, to express their solidarity.
Those who marched came from four groups: the International Indigenous Youth Council of Los Angeles, the Invest in Youth Coalition, White People for Black Lives and Friends of Puvungna. They were supporting the Acjachemen Nation and its goal of perpetual protection of the site. CSULB has offered different development proposals over the last three decades, but say now there are no plans to build on the land.
The 22-acre site has long been controversial and is now the subject of an ongoing lawsuit; the university dumped dirt and debris from a residence hall construction project, without proper consultation, on the land, according to the tribe.
A lawsuit filed in October 2019, which was supposed to go to trial June 17 after settlement negotiations floundered, has been postponed to Sept. 17. University spokesman Jeff Cook said he could not comment on the case.
