Juanenos’ Former Tribal Leader Loses Effort to Halt Vote

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 the controversy, Judge James R. Ross said he did not find that Belardes’ argument “had met the burden to merit any action.”

Belardes had sought the injunction to stop the Juaneno Band 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 federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, one of the steps toward tribal recognition.

Ross’ ruling, which set a trial on the leadership dispute for next April, now allows the tribal council elections to be held.

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. Belardes said he believes he was duly elected as tribal chairman in 1993. The opposing faction says that election 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 before there is a trial.

Johnston could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

With both sides claiming power, the group’s quest for federal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs may be in doubt.

Belardes, 47, a longtime tribal spokesman, has continued to speak for the Juaneno Band, although he was recently ousted in a vote of the band’s general council. The rift had escalated to the point where Belardes, who had refused to step down, hired a security guard to prevent members of Johnston’s faction from attending a Sept. 17 general council meeting at the San Juan Capistrano Mission.