This would become the boundaries of the reservation. Hunter’s uncle Hank Aldama was told to collect a small rock, no larger than his fist, and run as far north, east, south and west as his legs could carry him. Vice-Chairman Kenneth Meza, Executive Council Members Carlene Chamberlain, Jesse Pinto and Raymond Hunter remember stories of the reservation’s establishment in 1912. The Kumeyaay people referred to Europeans as Guacamal, and although trading occurred with early European explorers, the Kumeyaay people were eventually pushed east to present day El Cajon, Santee, Jamacha and Jamul.ĭrawing from the region, the name Jamul Indian Village of California was born.

Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo landed in present day San Diego Bay in 1542, making first contact.

These stories passed down from generation to generation, in both oral form and through pictographs that survive to this day. Tribal elders recall stories of turbulent times after first contact with Europeans. They knew the land well, watching the seasons pass, Kupiihaw (fall), Hiichur (winter), Chiipam (spring) and Iipaal (summer) and teaching tribal traditions and values. A part of the Kumeyaay people, their ancestors hunted, fished and raised their families in present day San Diego County and northern Mexico. The tribal members of the Jamul Indian Village of California trace their roots 12,000 years back to a time of independence and self-sufficiency. THE STORY OF JAMUL INDIAN VILLAGE OF CALIFORNIA

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