Jamul Indian Village A Kumeyaay Nation

Background

Jamul Indian Village is a small reservation located in rolling hills about 10 miles southeast of El Cajon in southern California, along State Highway 94 in San Diego County. In 1912 the San Diego Diocesan Office of Apostolic Ministry allowed Jamul Indian Village use of 2.34 acres of land for a cemetery; however, the Diocesan Office still retains ownership of the land. The Delay Corporation of San Diego deeded an additional 4.0 acres. The residents of Jamul Indian Village attained federally recognized reservation status in 1981.

The Jamul Tribe is part of the Kumeyaay or Diegueño Tribe of southern California. Their language belongs to the Hokan language group; languages included in this group are spoken by peoples from southern Oregon to southern Mexico. The Kumeyaay people are related to the Colorado River people, who are believed to have been the first Native Americans in the Southwest to come into contact with Europeans. The area’s heavy concentration of Spanish missionaries, with their zeal for assimilation, adversely affected the Kumeyaay people’s Native language and culture retention.

The federal government recognized the Jamul Indian Village’s executive council as a tribal government in 1981. The Jamul tribal government operates under articles of association and bylaws that established an executive tribal council. The general tribal council is composed of the tribe’s entire voting membership, and an executive tribal council, whose members are elected every two years. The six-member tribal council includes a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and a secretary-treasurer plus three executive council members. The executive council meets regularly or as necessary to conduct urgent business. The tribal council, which usually meets monthly, handles health matters, social services, drug prevention, housing, childcare, education, job training, and infrastructure.