Los Coyotes Tribal Office and Community Center

Nestled in the rural mountains of San Diego County is the reservation of the federally recognized Tribe of Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians. The reservation sits in a remote area northeast of San Diego and southeast of Los Angeles on land that is unsuitable for commercial development.

The Los Coyotes members are descendents of the Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians who originally occupied two villages near the reservation’s hot springs. The hot springs and the adjacent lands served as the center of the Tribal member’s lives.

Income was sought primarily by working as ranch and farm hands. Since the 1950s, however, the majority of Tribal members have sought employment in communities adjacent to their reservation. Today, there is still almost no development on the Los Coyotes reservation. Tribal members living on the reservation live in 12 single-family homes and 10 mobile trailers. Though electricity was brought to a part of the reservation 12 years ago, the service is substandard at best. Living conditions and the lack of economic opportunity on or near the reservation have forced Tribal members to find work and housing in other areas scattered throughout southern California. In fact, 51% of the adult Tribal members living off the reservation live within a commutable distance (70 miles) of the City of Barstow.