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County Supervisor Calls For Change In Leadership at Soboba Reservation
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Leaders of the Soboba tribe in Riverside County have reached a peace agreement of sorts with the county sheriff. It comes a few months after both sides traded insults sparked by a string of shootings between deputies and tribe members. KPCC's Steven Cuevas has the latest.
Roberg Salgado: You ready to sign?
Sheriff Stan Sniff: Sure.
[Cameras click in the background.]
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Steven Cuevas: Tribe chairman Robert Salgado and Sheriff Stan Sniff signed off on the new pact before news cameras at the Soboba country club. Under the agreement, deputies will respond to 911 calls on the reservation, but will not patrol the area. Tribal leaders will meet with a sheriff's liaison on a regular basis and provide deputies with "cultural sensitivity" training. Lieutenant Patricia Knudson is the chief liaison.
Lieutenant Patricia Knudson: We, as members of the sheriff's department and law enforcement, need to learn more about cultural history of Soboba, their land, and their people. And as tribal members, they need to learn more about law enforcement and why we do the things we do.
Cuevas: In May, sheriff's deputies responding to a call on the Soboba reservation shot and killed two tribe members. The deputies said they were ambushed with assault rifles when they arrived. Tribal chairman Robert Salgado accused deputies of not respecting sovereign territory, and of "shooting first and asking questions later." That was then.
Salgado: You know, like when you have a little misunderstanding, you know, you bang it out, and then we work toward the better interests of everybody. Not just the reservation, but everybody that's involved. Because I think that's the common goal, is have a safe, drug free reservation.
Cuevas: Tribal leaders were under pressure from local authorities to clamp down on trouble-making tribe members. In June, the National Indian Gaming Commission warned Soboba that it could shut down the tribe's popular casino if the violence did not cease.
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