MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS IS ATTEMPTING TO FORCE ME TO SELL MY 41-ACRE PROPERTY TO THEM AT PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. They are doing this by blocking access to my land with barriers across a public access road and a guard house they built on an easement I own.
Simply stated the situation is as follows:
- The Morongo Tribe has blocked a Banning public road with a guard shack, gate arms and electromechanical barriers. This prevents me from developing my property.
- The only logical explanation for this is that the Morongo Tribe is trying to force me to sell my property to the Tribe at a very low price.
- The City of Banning stubbornly refuses to remove the Tribe’s barriers from this public road (which is identified in its General Plan) because Banning’s politicians kowtow to Tribal money.
- I am suing Banning to remove the barriers because the Morongo Tribe’s immunities as a sovereign nation (basically as a country separate from the United States) shield it from lawsuits.
My family has owned this land since 1956. The road the Morongo Tribe is blocking – Fields Road – was until recently named after my father because he granted land for the road to Riverside County in 1960. See the story in the news section (below) about how the City of Banning recently changed the name of Fields Road at the request of the Mornogos.
If you would like to help me in my struggle for fair treatment, please send an email to me and I’ll keep you updated on the latest developments and how you can help.
The latest Land-Grab news
Being erased from history: first my land, now my name
The collusion between the Morongo Tribe and the City of Banning is becoming clearer each day.
First Banning allowed Morongo to block the only public road leading to my property – namely, Fields Rd. Then the Banning City Council voted 5-0 to change the name of the road to Malki Rd, at the Morongo’s request. Fields Rd. was named after my father because he granted to Riverside County some of the land that became Fields Rd. back in 1959.
The name change appears to be retaliation for a lawsuit I have pending against the City for allowing the Morongo Tribe to block the only public road leading to my property. The barriers prevent me from developing my land, and the name change erases from history my father’s generous contribution to the County of Riverside.
Press coverage:
More than 100 join protest against Indian land-grabs
Indian tribes across the state are using their newly purchased political influence to take away the rights of non-Indian private property owners. More than 100 of these disenfranchised property owners joined me at the Riverside Courthouse to tell their stories of how Indian tribes, in their quest for more casino-fueled power, are infringing upon private property rights.
These property owners from throughout Riverside County are simply asking for fair treatment by local, state and federal officials to protect their legitimate interests and life-safety.
Press coverage:
KABC 7 cameras roll as Morongo security prevents me from entering my property
The Morongo Tribe disingenuously states I have free access to my 41-acre property, even though they erected barriers on the only public road leading to my land. They say I just need to show I.D. to visit it.
Inland Empire Weekly covers irony of the Morongo’s land grab
Here’s an excellent piece from I.E. Weekly’s Tommy Purvis on my situation.
An ironic case of reverse manifest destiny has turned into a legal dispute between a residential developer based in Beverly Hills and the city of Banning. The brouhaha in the drama is due to allegations of access restrictions to a 41-acre plot of land inherited by Lloyd Fields from his father, Harry Fields.
The land which is only reachable from Fields Road is surrounded by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians territory. The sovereign nation built and operates a guard booth that uses swing arm barriers to control access on the easement that leads to the Fields property west of the Cabazon outlets. The road also leads to the cultural Morongo Malki Museum.
Left without the option to sue the Morongo Band, due to their sovereign status, Fields served Banning with a lawsuit in February. The lawsuit requests the municipality to bulldoze the guard shack. It argues that Fields Road, which Riverside County named after his father in 1959, is a public thoroughfare and that the tribe had no right to put up the blockade. It names City Manager Andy Takata, along with Mayor Barbara Hanna and the current members of the city council—John Machisic, Bob Botts, Debbie Franklin, Don Robinson—for causing obstruction damages in excess of $25,000.
In an ad buy Fields made in the Record Gazette, he claims to be the victim of “injustice” at the hands of the Morongo nation. His campaign is an effort to “expose the intimate collaboration between the city and the tribe, even if it’s at the expense of the taxpayer.” A report released by the California Fair Political Practices Commission found that last decade the Morongo Band of Mission Indians spent $83.6 million to influence state voters and politicians. The amount was enough to leave the special interest group roughly $20 million behind The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, but well ahead of Pacific Gas and Electric and Chevron Inc. for cash spent in the same period. Click to read the complete story.
