Ousted Juaneno Leader Fails to Win Injunction

A faction of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians that is embroiled in a leadership struggle was handed a defeat Wednesday when an Orange County Superior Court judge denied an injunction sought by an ousted tribal leader.

In denying the action brought by David Belardes, the former leader at the center of this controversy, Judge James R. Ross said he did not find that Belardes’ argument “had met the burden to merit any action.”

“Things that were said in these court papers,” Ross said, indicating an eight-inch-tall stack of case files on his desk, “are vague . . . and do not support the relief you seek.”

Belardes, who expressed disappointment after the ruling, had sought the injunction to stop the Juanenos from holding elections Dec. 17 for new tribal council members.

The split within the Juaneno band, one of the Southland’s oldest Native American groups, has imperiled its longstanding hope of achieving federal recognition as a tribe, according to both factions in the dispute.

The Juanenos are also under pressure to prepare for a visit early next year by representatives of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, one of the steps toward tribal recognition.

Ross’ ruling, which set a trial on the leadership dispute for next April, allows tribal council elections to go forward next month.

But Belardes said in a telephone interview that he will refuse to participate in the elections, even though he was nominated to the tribal council. He said he believes he was duly elected as tribal chairman in 1993, an election that the opposing faction says was void because it was a voice vote.

“We’re the tribal council and we’re still in place and what’s going to happen is we’re going to have two tribal councils,” Belardes said.

Paul Horgan, an attorney for Sonia Johnston, who was named official tribal spokeswoman after Belardes’ recent ouster, said he and his client hope the Juanenos can reach a resolution without a trial.

“My feeling is hopefully there will be a resolution before then,” Horgan said.

Johnston could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

But with both sides claiming power, the Juanenos’ quest for federal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs may be in doubt.

“What are these people in Washington going to think?” Belardes asked. “If they talk to these people on Sonia’s side and they hear how she interprets things, gosh, we’re not going to get recognized. It’s a sad state of affairs.”

Belardes, 47, a longtime tribal spokesman, was removed from his leadership post in a vote of the band’s general council, but has refused to step down. The rift recently escalated to the point where Belardes has hired a security guard to prevent members of the rival faction from attending a Sept. 17 general council meeting at the Mission San Juan Capistrano.

In the legal action, Belardes also sought--unsuccessfully--to prevent Johnston from using the Juaneno name. Belardes claims that a majority of the 2,000 members scattered across the country will stand behind him and not Johnston.