UCLA

This thesis is a case study of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians' (Tribe) multifaceted practice of Tribal Cultural Resources Management (TCRM) as it relates to projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Tracing the Tribe's journey to weave traditional stewardship principles into the contemporary fabric of TCRM, this thesis investigates how the Tribe utilizes TCRM to express, assert, and preserve its inherent sovereignty over the land and its resources. With a jurisdiction encompassing northern Los Angeles County, the Tribe is confronted with numerous land-altering activities that require strenuous review to eliminate potential adverse impacts to invaluable tribal cultural resources. Yet, there remains no legislation in place to ensure that the Tribe is compensated for the professional consultation services, assessments, and /or expertise it provides in this effort. Lack of funding is one of four key disruptions to productive TCRM addressed in this research, which also presents the Tribe's partial solutions to them. This thesis then demonstrates how the Tribe's proactive response to these impediments has removed a fraction of the financial burden of consultation off the Tribe, and helped support its TCRM department become more self-sufficient, while interrogating the current policies that have necessitated such actions.