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Escondido council backs letter urging San Diego to return San Pasqual battlefield lands to tribal stewardship
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Summary
The council approved a letter of support asking the City of San Diego and state officials to return parts of the San Pasqual Battlefield area to the San Pasqual Band of Kumeyaay Indians so the tribe can steward the ancestral land and cemetery.
Escondido — The City Council voted to send a letter supporting efforts to return the San Pasqual Battlefield area to the San Pasqual Band of Kumeyaay Indians.
Council member Judy Fitzgerald (identified in the meeting invocation and by council comments) framed the request as a matter of cultural stewardship: she said the tribe seeks to manage roughly 3.69 square miles in the San Pasqual Valley, to care for ancestral cemetery sites and to steward the land in partnership with existing operators where appropriate. She told the council that Mayor Todd Gloria of San Diego indicated support in a meeting she described, but noted the process involves multiple jurisdictions and that some parcels are under separate authorities, such as the water district.
Council approved the letter of support and asked staff and council members to continue outreach to state and regional leaders to facilitate the transfer and clarify technical steps on both city and state sides.
What happens next: The council-directed letter will be sent to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and other regional officials to express Escondido’s support for the tribe’s request and to urge timely progress on outstanding jurisdictional and administrative issues.
