Juaneno Band Loses Tax Exempt Status; IRS claims FAILURE to File

The Juaneño Band of Mission Indians is among 20 local nonprofits whose tax-exempt status has been revoked by the IRS.

Nationwide, about 275,000 organizations automatically lost their tax-exempt status for not filing legally mandated reports for three consecutive years, despite what the IRS said was an "extensive effort" to inform organizations of the changes to federal laws.

IRS officials said they believe the vast majority of the newly revoked groups are no longer in existence and need to be removed under the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The law requires most tax-exempt organizations to file an annual information return or notice with the IRS.

Tribal Chairman Anthony Rivera said in an e-mail that the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians has been in good standing and filed all appropriate filings since 1993 and expects to eventually receive proper reinstatement.

"The tribe will file all the rest of the appropriate filing required to continue with our fundraising for tribal programs like our tribal education, youth, and elders programs," he said.

In a statement, IRS Chairman Doug Shulma said he realizes there may be some legitimate organizations, especially very small ones, that were unaware of their new filing requirement. "We are taking additional steps for these groups to maintain their tax-exempt status without jeopardizing their operations or harming their donors,” he said.

Juanenos Plan To Appeal Denial of Federal Recognition

THEY MUST COME TOGETHER AS ONE TRIBE TO BE SUCCESSFUL.  Their segregation into three groups has hurt their cause.


The Bureau of Indian Affairs calls its March 15 rejection of a federal recognition for the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians a “Final Determination.”

The 147-page document painstakingly undermines the Juaneños’ contentions that they are descendants a pre-Mission tribe, have lived under their own governance and continually been recognized as a tribe, pointing out that nearly half of the 200 living Indians around the Mission in 1862 were wiped out by smallpox. Then, the federal government says, the tribe sort of drifted away.

“There is no evidence that the petitioner’s SJC Indian ancestors were distinct within this community after 1862, or were part of an Indian entity that evolved from the SJC Indian tribe in 1834; rather, they appear to be Indian individuals who became absorbed into the general, ethnically-mixed population of Old Mexican/Californio families, as well as with non-SJC Indians who moved to the town prior to 1900.”

To be federally recognized a group must “comprise a distinct community and have existed as a community from historical times,” must have “political influence” over its members; must have membership criteria, must have membership that consists of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe and who are not enrolled in any other tribe.

The feds say the Juaneños failed to demonstrate they’ve been recognized as a distinct community, that the tribe has continued from a historical tribe, have maintained political influence over members and that its members descended from Native Americans in the tribe.

But the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, which claims 1,940 members, said the rejection is anything but the last word, anything but final. The tribe has until mid-June to appeal the 147-page decision to a special panel in Washington D.C.

“We have to appeal . That’s just part of the process,” Juaneño Chairman Anthony Rivera, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Brigham Young University and a Masters Degree from Harvard University. “It’s a long process. We have to go through the appeal process. We have to demonstrate they are wrong.”

BIA: Juaneno Tribe will Have to Wait LONGER to be Recognized

After more than 28 years of waiting for the Federal Government to recognize them, the Juaneno tribe will have to wait some more.

A decision on whether the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians will get federal recognition is now expected on or before Dec. 15, a ruling pushed back more than two months since it was originally anticipated.
R. Lee Fleming, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Federal Acknowledgment, informed petitioners of the new decision deadline in a letter dated Sept. 24.

We had no idea that once the OFA makes the final determination it goes to the Office of Assistant Secretary," said Cathy O'Campo Lopez, whose father Joe O'Campo is one of the petitioners.

She is not optimistic that recognition will be granted because Juaneño members are not unified under one tribal government, O'Campo Lopez said.