Cold wind and occasional raindrops created a contrast to the welcoming and warmth of the people attending the Nov. 15 celebration after 560 acres were returned to the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians.
The Golden Eagle Farm property, at 27236 Highway 78 between Ramona and Santa Ysabel, came back to the Mesa Grande tribe in September after a federal process that began when the tribe purchased the property in 2017. The private celebration in the afternoon was attended by 100 of 25 tribal councils, and neighbors and friends with history and knowledge of the property.
The ceremony included bird songs sung in native languages by Anthony Trujillo and Manuel La Chappa, of the Mesa Grande tribe, a buffet dinner with roasted pig and a band to close out the evening.
“Just having our land back and having so many native tribes here, that’s the most important thing,” said Keely Linton, president of the Mesa Grande Economic Development Board.
Brian and Jessica Rotge have lived off Sutherland Dam Road in Ramona, near the Golden Eagle Farm property, since returning to the area two years ago after living down the hill.
“My grandmother was born in 1927 on the reservation, and ed away last September. It’s a big community connection to have the land back. And it’s beautiful,” Jessica Rotge said. “And the more we expand the land, the more opportunities for more people to come back.”
The Mesa Grande tribe purchased the property for about $6 million from the Mabee family — leading thoroughbred race horse breeders who created Golden Eagle Farm — with the idea of using it as an economic development venture.
“Agritourism is the biggest project we’ve been working on,” said Essence Oyos, secretary of the tribe’s Business Development Corp. “We want to keep the land as natural as possible; it’s sacred land and our ancestors subsisted there because they knew how to maintain it.”
To date, the tribe’s efforts have focused on opening an organic farm stand, growing and selling farm to table produce and renovating three houses on the property for vacation rentals. One house has been completed so far.
“We want to build economic development in a good way that s the land and tribal and make sure it is a family friendly place that people want to come to,” Oyos said.
Nationwide, the return of indigenous land to the original tribal stewards is part of the “Land Back” movement. The process aims to ensure ancestral land is returned to the tribes, which are then able to establish their priorities, and use their traditional ecological knowledge and expertise for the care of the land.
Many present at the celebration were aware of the obstacles and the decade of work it took for the land return to take place.
“I’ve personally been to every single meeting, filed the application and all the things — it’s like the longest pregnancy ever,” Oyos said. “And as any parent knows, once the baby is born the real work begins.”
Marsha Kelly, a tribal consultant who began working with the Mesa Grande band in 2013, said from the beginning, an unusual set of circumstances ended up connecting the Mesa Grande tribe with a Minnesota company — ironically named Geronimo Energy — to secure a federal government power purchase contract, which was later sold to a wind farm in Illinois for $3 million.
Those funds, which came through in 2016, were used to help with the down payment for the Golden Eagle property. The rest was financed from a native-owned bank, Kelly said, noting that the tribe has a mortgage.
Although the process started in 2013, it took more than a year to get the power agreement in place, and nearly as long to find a buyer for the agreement, she said.
Two years after the 2017 purchase of the property, the tribe issued limited authority over the land to the Business Development Corp.
Oyos has worked on the “fee to trust,” also known as the “land into trust,” or transfer of land title from the beginning.
“In order to get their land back, most tribes have to purchase land that is for sale, although occasionally some federal agencies will transfer land directly to tribes,” Oyos said.
In Southern California, where real estate is expensive, local tribes mostly have to purchase land, which is known as “fee simple,” a form of ownership.
The Golden Eagle property was purchased fee simple; however, for the tribe, Oyos said it meant that state and county rules applied and the land could only be used based on zoning.
“That’s why we began the process of fee simple to trust status, so that we can ultimately have sovereignty over the property,” she said.
Oyos said she hasn’t been alone, noting she had the help and of the Economic Development Board and Kelly along the way.
The process of returning the land to the tribe, however, was slowed by everything from an incorrect survey of record to the COVID pandemic, which shut down county offices.
“Once the attorney submitted the fee to trust transfer application in 2021, it went pretty quickly by federal government standards,” Oyos said.
The land transfer was published in the Federal on Sept. 5.
The Golden Eagle land is in addition to the 1,820-acre Mesa Grande reservation near Santa Ysabel.
As Golden Eagle transitions back to the Mesa Grande tribe, many of those who know and love the peaceful valley acreage look forward to sharing its history — and its future.
“People now have the ability to come here and feel the energy from the property. It’s truly amazing,” said Sharon Quisenberry, a Ramona resident and local real estate agent for more than 40 years.
Quisenberry said she and her husband, Clark, lived in an adobe home on the farm, now a vacation rental, for 22 years. He was the horse farm manager until he retired in 1995. He died in April.
“To see the land go back to the rightful owners is huge and to come back is heart filling,” Quisenberry said, while standing in front of her former abode, looking across the empty horse paddocks at the mountain view. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Curtis La Chusa, chairman of the Mesa Grande tribe, said he was impressed with the hard work that culminated in the Land Back process.
“It was not easy. But today, we are here to celebrate. We work today for the future,” he said.
The Golden Eagle farm store is open Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The farm also has a Night Market, which is held indoors for the season on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, beginning this week.
For more information, visit goldeneaglegardens.com.
