President Trump on December 20 signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes language directing the Department of Interior to take all 1,427 acres of Camp 4 into federal trust for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
“We’ve pursued placing Camp 4 into federal trust through two avenues — the administrative process and the legislative process,” said Kenneth Kahn, chairman of the tribe. The NDAA’s passage “puts our tribe one step closer to realizing our dream of having adequate tribal housing on our ancestral land.”
The tribe’s land affirmation bill, H.R. 317, was introduced into Congress on January 8, 2019, by Congressmembers Doug LaMalfa and Salud Carbajal. The language included in the NDAA largely mirrors what was included in H.R. 317.