Appeal Court Ruling Bolsters Effort to Preserve Indian Site
A state court of appeal has replaced a legal barrier preventing Cal State Long Beach from developing 22 acres of vacant land considered sacred by some American Indian groups.
The decision reverses a lower court ruling that the parcel’s off-limits designation by the state Native American Heritage Commission represented an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
The three-judge panel decided Thursday that Cal State cannot raise such a legal challenge against a fellow state agency. The school had argued that it was doing so on behalf of students who would not be able to afford costly litigation.
University officials had proposed a retail strip on the site along Bellflower Boulevard.
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has joined with local American Indian groups to fight development of the land, believed to have been a burial ground and regional gathering place.
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