Chemehuevi Cemetery in Twentynine Palms lands on National Register of Historic Places

On July 8, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians announced that the tribe’s ancestral Chemehuevi cemetery in Twentynine Palms has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Located on Adobe Road, at the NE intersection of Sullivan Road, the parcel itself is roughly an acre of dry dirt but for the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, the sacred soil holds ancestors who made this desert their home. Now officially on the National Register of Historic Places, the Twentynine Palms Chemehuevi Indian Burial Ground has earned federal status from the U.S. National Park Service.

Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians Chief Administrative Officer Anthony Madrigal stated that the designation was attained specifically for federal protection.

“Over time, there’s just been a lot of encroachment activity that has occurred within the original Oasis footprint in terms of historical development that has happened. We’re talking residential, commercial – just little things that accumulated over time that have kind of encroached and diminished the footprint of what we view as the Oasis today and the development up to and around the cemetery itself,” said Madrigal.

Mostly nomadic, the Chemehuevi people traversed the desert between California and Utah before settling at the Oasis of Mara in the 1860s. Now dry, the former oasis is off National Park Drive, behind the former visitor center for Joshua Tree National Park, now used for staff offices. As the tribe settled in the area, raised children, lived and died, the burial grounds became necessary.

In modern day, a settlement agreement with the city of Twentynine Palms to “quit claim” the property to the tribe was reached. This historic designation is part of a long-term plan to educate and protect tribal history.

“One of the things we wanted to do was to get this designation in place to inform the local community and not just the tribal community but the local community that this place is very significant to the first Americans who resided in this area, to the Native Americans, to the Chemehuevi and Serrano and others who visited the area, that it is important to protect but also look at eligibility to get funding to hopefully undertake and implement measures to further preserve the cemetery as intended. There are no plans to change the specific use of it but to only enhance the preservation efforts and put in the appropriate infrastructure to preserve it and protect it.”

Primarily in use in the mid-1800s to the early-1900s, the grounds contain approximately 50-60 graves, including that of Jim Boniface, a Chemehuevi leader who died in 1903. Sadly, thirteen of the fourteen children of Jim and Matilda Pine are also buried there. The cemetery is also linked to the infamous Willie Boy incident of 1909, as Mrs. Waterman was buried there after being killed by Willie Boy. While the grounds have not had a burial there in more than half a century, Madrigal would not rule out future use.

“It’s always about outreach and education and bringing attention to a critical area of the Chemehuevi’s and tribal history too, regional tribal history. It’s a significant place. Again, it’s part of the fabric of the larger Oasis of Mara which is the homeland of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians and we look to continue to preserve areas such as this around that footprint,” said Madrigal.