The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Serrano people The Serrano are an indigenous people of California. They use the autonyms of Taaqtam, meaning "people"; Maarrênga’yam, "people from Morongo"; and Yuhaaviatam, "people of the pines." Today the Maarrênga'yam are enrolled in the Morongo Band o ...

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

."San Manuel Reservation."
''SDSU: California Indians and Their Reservations.'' 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2012.Pritkzer 143 The band is made up of the Yuhaviatam clan of Serrano people, who have traditionally lived in the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

. The other federally recognized Serrano tribe is the

Morongo Band of Mission Indians The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, United States. The main tribal groups are Cahuilla and Serrano. Tribal members also include Cupeño, Luiseño, and Chemehuevi Indians. Although many tribes in C ...

, located in

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

Government

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is headquartered in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

in San Bernardino County."Tribal Directory."
''National Congress of American Indians.'' Retrieved 25 November 2012. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, seven-person tribal council. Their current tribal chairperson is Ken Ramirez.

Reservation

San Manuel Reservation is a federally recognized

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

in San Bernardino County. Originally, it was in size, but has expanded to . Established in 1891, the reservation was named for Santos Manuel, a prominent tribal leader."Tribal Government."
''San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.'' Retrieved 25 November 2012. In December 2016, the tribe arranged lighting of the Arrowhead landmark for 14 nights, in honor of the 14 victims killed by domestic terrorists the year before in San Bernardino. This is a California Historical Monument and namesake for various local places.ICTMN Staff, "14 Victims, as Many Lights: San Manuel Band Rekindles Famed Arrowhead to Mark San Bernardino Massacre"
2 December 2016; accessed 2 December 2016 Together with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians of Southern California, the San Manuel Band made a "joint donation totaling $600,000 to the San Bernardino United Relief Fund shortly after the shooting last year. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians employ more than 4000 team members and is one of the primary employers in the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities o ...

region of California. They own and operate Yaamava Resort & Casino (renovated in 2016), Serrano Buffet, The Pines, Rock N’ Brews, Chingon's Kitchen, Tutu's Food Court, and Big Mo's, all located in

. In 2019, the band made a donation of $25 million to the Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. In honour of the donation, the fifth floor of the children's hospital is slated to be named the San Manuel Maternity Pavilion. In 2020, the band made a $9 million gift to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The gift will be used for education and innovation related to tribal gaming operations and law. On October 4, 2021, The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians won “Responsible business of the year” award and were runners up for the “property of the year award” for the Yaamava Resort & Casino.

Education

The reservation is served by the

San Bernardino City Unified School District San Bernardino City Unified School District is a public school district in San Bernardino County, California that serves most of the city of San Bernardino and the western portion of Highland. The district has an enrollment of approximately 57, ...

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

External links