Camp 4 – recently placed into federal trust
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians announced today that the tribe’s 1,390 acres known as “Camp 4” has been placed into federal trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
“We are pleased that our Camp 4 land is now in federal trust,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “Camp 4 is officially part of our reservation so we can begin the process of building homes on the property for tribal members and their families and revitalizing our tribal community.”
Shortly after the tribe purchased the Camp 4 property in 2010, it began the process of placing the land into federal trust by taking the administrative route. In July 2013, the tribe filed a federal trust application with the BIA and by December 2014 a Notice of Decision was received from the BIA, accepting the tribe’s Camp 4 land into federal trust. It was one of the final steps before the land was officially placed into trust.
Concurrently, the tribe took the legislative route and in October 2013 federal legislation (HR 3313) was introduced to take the Camp 4 land into federal trust on behalf of the tribe. In February 2015, federal legislation (HR 1157) was re-introduced to Congress. In July 2016, the House Committee on Natural Resources voted 29-1 to pass HR 1157.
Tribal Chairman Kenneth Kahn
“The administrative path was successful and now Camp 4 is in trust,” said Kahn. “The return of this ancestral land represents a significant milestone in the tribe’s history and now it is part of the reservation.”
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians owns and operates the Chumash Casino Resort, which is located on the tribe’s reservation on Highway 246 in Santa Ynez, California. The tribe also owns Hotel Corque, Root 246 and the Hadsten House in Solvang and two gas stations in Santa Ynez.
