California Trail of Tears: Native Tribe Begs for Its Homeland

The Golden State: A place where all are welcome, federal lawbreakers find sanctuary, drag queens are recognized as pillars of society, and drug paraphernalia is handed out to homeless people on the streets. A state where no one is left behind. The glittering Hollywood-ites save the climate in a private jet. Reparations are on the table for anyone who wears black or brown skin, whether they hail from enslaved people or not. Ah, yes, a paradise of diversity except for one group overlooked, swept under the rug, and kept in obscurity: California's Muwekma Ohlone tribe. A 21st-century Trail of Tears was sparked by the rejection of former California Attorney General and Vice President Kamala Harris and crushed by the heavy-handed feds of Joe Biden’s administration.

So, what's a threatened and abandoned tribe to do? Call President Donald Trump for some much-needed help in restoring the name and numbers of California's oldest and long-unrecognized tribal people.

Tribal chairwoman of the Muwekma Ohlone, Charlene Nijmeh, spoke exclusively with The Gateway Pundit. It was a raw interview that progressives never want to acknowledge and certainly not read about in legacy media or see on the likes of such liberal outlets as MSNBC or CNN. In a frank discussion, Nijmeh stated that the Native American vote swung to Trump and now seeks that his “common-sense administration” restore her tribe to its rightful place.

Reparations? Just Respect and Recognition

The US government once recognized the tribe that inhabited its aboriginal homeland for the past 2,000 years in the following counties: San Francisco, San Mateo, most of Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and portions of Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, and San Joaquin. However, the Muwekma were removed from the Federal Register in 1927 after the United States decided they were extinct. They were not -- although it would seem the plan was to deny resources to the members.

The tribe was then approved and enrolled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1928 through 1933, 1948 through 1957, and 1968 through 1971, under the 1928 California Jurisdictional Act. There was no hearing, no act of Congress, no executive order.

And yet somehow, with ample evidence of aboriginal location and members living together, the Muwekma were once again kicked off the rolls in 1978. They petitioned repeatedly to no avail. Then, in 2024, Kamala Harris, who had shattered the glass ceiling to ascend to the vice presidency, heard the supplication of Nijmeh’s predecessor, who had reached out to her many times to get her support on legislation. Harris replied: "Indian country is not my business."

As usual, Harris was woefully off the mark. "Indian" business is America's business, and yet another reason to rejoice that she is not behind the Resolute Desk pandering to illegal aliens and finding ways to pay black folks money the United States does not have.

Trail of Truth

When Nijmeh saw presidential candidate Kamala in Indian country talking about “self-governing, protecting tribal rights, self-sovereignty issues,” the charade became clear. And desperate times call for desperate measures: The tribe finally embarked on a reverse Trail of Tears, heading to the capital in 2024, on horseback. Optics were painful and a bold reminder of the people left behind. They campaigned against Harris across the plains, farmland, and ranch land, finally stopping in front of the US Capitol in October 2024.

"And we campaigned across the Indian country about this: Kamala is no good for us. She's going to pick and choose who she wants to work with. And it just happens to be the big corporation gaming tribes. They give her money. She was not going to represent all of Indian country. This journey was about speaking our truths, to be seen and to be heard across Indian country, and especially in DC because they've been ignoring us for 45 years. They've been giving us lip service – telling us what we want to hear but doing nothing or doing the opposite."

The tribe rode and walked across Arlington Bridge to the Capitol and made camp. Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs and Capitol Police, offered an escort to the meeting. It was a setup, according to Nijmeh, escalating into a three-and-a-half-hour standoff with President Joe Biden's feds and law enforcement in DC. "When we showed up with the horses, all the streets were blocked off – there was over 100 police officers there from all agencies. They swarmed us and said: 'You cannot take those horses out [of the trailer].' We were shocked. '[But] you're going to escort us.’ And they said, 'No, you don't have a permit.’"

The situation exploded: Nijmeh continued in The Gateway Pundit interview: "They attacked us, saying they were going to confiscate our horses, euthanize them. They were saying this to the women and children who were there to grab their horses. We went on full protection mode. We surrounded that trailer. We were standing our ground. They attacked us and were trying to yank us off. They threw my daughter to the curb. She hurt herself. And they pushed an elder woman, her face up against the back of the trailer. Nine people were arrested in all this chaos."

Of course, then-Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland also got involved, allegedly telling the tribe through a nasty letter: "She says, '[G]o to Congress. We are refusing to meet with you because of the time and resources we had to spend to contain you.' I was shocked. I sent that letter out to everybody in Indian country so they can see what Deb Haaland is all about."

Where are those social justice Democrats that Nijmeh supported? Their only platform seems to be anger and Orange Man Bad. And that begs the question: Could Trump and his big tent of independent, conservative, and Democratic Cabinet members be the answer? Maybe the historic Presidio is a good start.

The Presidio in California

In February, Trump signed Executive Order 14217, "Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy." The order specifically targets, among others, the Presidio Trust. A decommissioned military base, it is now a 1,500-acre park mandated through a bill introduced by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) back in 1996. Within sight of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, it's sacred Muwekma Ohlone aboriginal ground.

"This is an opportunity for President Trump to do what the state of California has failed to do," Nijmeh said. "Not only will returning the Presidio to Indigenous care be the right thing for our people and for the land, but it will also save the federal government — and taxpayers — money." Muwekma had long backed the “social justice” Democrats, but that changed after repeated snubs from the party that had always pledged to help the vulnerable. Will the Trump administration be able to find a way to restore this Native American tribe some of its heritage?