Presbyterian church leaders from the San Gabriel Valley returned ancestral land to the Gabrieleno Tongva tribe. This act of reparative justice occurred on August 2, 2025, marking the first-ever land transfer from a church to an Indigenous tribe in California. The returned land, part of Siban'gna, was once a sacred village of the Tongva people. The site is located less than a mile from Mission San Gabriel Arcangel and serves as the headquarters for the Gabrieleno Tongva Tribal Council, representing a significant acknowledgment of Indigenous sovereignty and rights.
The Presbytery of San Gabriel returned original Tongva land, once the site of a sacred village later used by the church, back to the Gabrieleno Tongva tribe. This historic return marked the first-ever land transfer from a church to a recognized Indigenous tribe in California history.
Leaders called the site Siban'gna, part of the Gabrieleno Tongva's ancestral village, celebrating the historical significance of the land return.
Church leaders and congregants celebrated the land return, emphasizing the importance of reparative justice and acknowledging the ancestral rights of the Tongva people.
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