Pretendian and federally recognized tribe battle over Oceano Dunes

November 21, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

Who should have more influence on the future of the Oceano Dunes, a pretendian or a federal recognized indigenous tribe?

The Northern Chumash, an unrecognized tribe founded by a pretendian, support closing the dunes to off-road recreational vehicles. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians argue the dunes should remain open for vehicle recreation. Both groups are asking the court to support their position.

In response to a judge’s July 19 ruling that California Coastal Commission overstepped its authority when it voted to phase out off-road vehicle usage at the Oceano Dunes by 2025, the Coastal Commission appealed the ruling. However, the only federally recognized Chumash tribe in the nation filed a brief in support of off-road vehicles on the beach while a group started by a pretendian wants the park shuttered.

The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians (Chumash Tribe) was recognized by the federal government in 1901.

“The Chumash Tribe represents the interests and cultural heritage of the Chumash people, whose historic territory encompasses the Oceano Dunes,” the brief says. “The Chumash have a vested interest in the preservation and respectful use of their ancestral lands, as well as ensuring that their voices are heard in governmental processes affecting these lands.”

However, the Coastal Commission failed to consult with the Chumash and other California tribes in violation of established government codes and policies. The commission’s actions “undermine tribal sovereignty and cultural preservation efforts,” according to the brief.

Instead, the Coastal Commission consulted with the self-professed “Northern Chumash Tribal Council,” while not properly reviewing the list of federally recognized tribes.

The Northern Chumash,  founded by Fred Collins, claims it has deep cultural and historical connection to the coastline. “The Northern Chumash have been the land’s stewards and caretakers since time immemorial, and this role has been compromised by the advent of OHV activities, “Collins claimed.

When The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wanted to establish the Chumash Marine Sanctuary, it was at the request of Fred Collins’s group and not the federally recognized Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians.

Collins is what is known as a pretendian, a person who claims Indigenous heritage without any substantive evidence to support the assertion. During his lifetime, Collins profited by using his alleged Indian heritage for financial gain.

When he was in his 20s, U.S. Custom’s agents arrested Collins in Pismo Beach for smuggling cocaine into the country. He later spent time in prison before going to work as an indigenous monitor at construction sites.

In 2013, certified genealogist Lorraine Escobar researched Collins’s ancestry. She concluded “Collins was not of Native American ancestry and that his maternal lineage was from Mexico,” according to a 2017 appellate court ruling.

“The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians respectfully requests that this Court uphold the trial court’s judgment directing the California Coastal Commission” to keep the dunes open to recreational vehicle use, according to the brief.

In March 2021, the Coastal Commission voted unanimously to phase out off-road vehicle usage at the Oceano Dunes over three years and to close the Pier Avenue entrance by July 1, 2022.

At the time, commissioners argued vehicle usage at the dunes harms the environment and does not comply with the California Coastal Act. The commissioners also cited environmental justice as a justification for closing the park to vehicles.

Friends of Oceano Dunes, a nonprofit that represents approximately 28,000 supporters of off-road recreation, previously indicated it was ready to take legal action if either the Coastal Commission or California State Parks were to attempt to ban or reduce off-road vehicle usage at the dunes.

A week before the March 2021 Coastal Commission vote, Thomas Roth, the San Francisco-based attorney for Friends of Oceano Dunes, sent a letter accusing the Coastal Commission of bias, overstepping its legislative authority and violating due process.

In 1975, the dunes were set aside for off-road vehicle recreation as part of the California Coastal Plan, which says off-road vehicle use “shall be permitted.”

“The Coastal Commission has jumped the shark,” Roth wrote in his letter. “It has no authority to direct State Parks to ban all OHV (off-highway vehicle) at a park expressly authorized for OHV use, especially where that use has lawfully existed for 40 years, and where the use predated even the creation of the Coastal Commission.”

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Tana Coates ruled on July 19 in favor of Friends of the Oceano Dunes.

“The court finds that in permanently prohibiting all off-highway vehicles in the Oceano Dunes State Recreational Area, the Coastal Communion acted ‘without, or in excess of its jurisdiction,’” Coates wrote in her ruling. “The court also finds the Coastal Commission violated CEQA by deciding to close the Pier Avenue entrance to the Oceano Dunes State Recreational Area without evaluating how it would impact vehicle miles traveled.”

An appellate hearing is scheduled for next summer.

San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding ran on a promise to shutter the dunes to recreational vehicles. He notes in his Nov. 15 newletter, that even if the appellate court rules against the Coastal Commission, it is likely the California Supreme Court will be more sympathetic.

“Regardless of how the Court of Appeals rules, though, the decision will likely be appealed to the California Supreme Court, in which case we will have a final ruling on the matter, as a strict matter of law,” Paulding wrote. “There is speculation that that the California Supreme Court will be more sympathetic to the Coastal Commission’s position but this remains to be seen.”

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