State gives land to Agua Caliente tribe’

California has donated 320 acres to the Agua Caliente Band of Mission Indians.

The state’s Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy recently handed over the ancestral land in the San Jacinto Mountains to the federally recognized tribe, according to a statement on the tribe’s website.

“Returning these lands to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is an example of how we can right historical wrongs and advance healing for the land and people at the same time,” said Wade Crowfoot, Secretary, California Natural Resources Agency, in the statement. “We are committed to working with California Native American tribes to support their return of ancestral lands and to help protect these landscapes for future generations.”

The donated land was bought by the conservancy in 1997 for environmental reasons. Established in 1991, the conservancy protects natural and cultural resources in the Coachella Valley.

This year, the conservancy has donated 600 acres of ancestral land to the Agua Caliente tribe, which is based within the borders of Palm Springs, according to the statement.