Mission Yearbook: California presbytery returns ancestral land to tribal government

The Presbytery of San Gabriel and the Gabrieleno-Tongva Band of Mission Indians gathered over the summer to celebrate a groundbreaking act of reparative justice.

The Presbytery of San Gabriel officially returned land previously used as the presbytery’s La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center to the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians, led by the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Council under Chief Anthony Morales. This marks the first-ever land back transfer by a church in California to an established tribal government, and the first of its kind in California and Los Angeles County.

“It was both an honor and a blessing to join the Stated Clerk to witness the Tongva people receive one portion of their ancestral lands back from the Presbytery of San Gabriel as the caretakers of Tongvar,” said the Rev. Jermaine Ross-Allam, director of the Center for the Repair of Historic Harms. “The emotional response I witnessed from San Gabriel Mayor Denise Menchaca and Council Member John Wu on that gorgeous sunlight day blessed with white sage offerings reminded me that when we follow the direction the Spirit is leading us toward God’s wholeness, we can rest assured that we will soon discover we are not the only ones who the Spirit intends to move!”

Watch the video below to hear from members of the Gabrieleno-Tongva Band of Mission Indians.

Video URL: https://vimeo.com/1120928262?share=copy

Kristen Gaydos, Director of Communications, Presbyterian Historical Society Click here to read original PNS Story)

Let us join in prayer for:

Kristine Baker, Associate for Risk Management, Administrative Services Group (A Corporation)
Zenia Baker, Administrative I, Operations, Presbyterian Foundation               

Let us pray:

Holy and faithful God, on sacred ground once separated and now restored, we witness your Spirit at work, guiding hearts toward repair and renewal. Please teach us to listen to the stories carried by the land and by its people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.