A Southern California Tribal Transportation and Mobility Oral History Narrative

This project examines the intergovernmental relationship between San Diego County Tribal Nations and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and its development of relationship and practices to prioritize Tribal transportation and mobility needs within the larger regional planning process. SANDAG and Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association (SCTCA) established a formal relationship with Tribal leadership and representation on several key regional committees that provide a platform for Tribal issues to be included in the regional planning process. While this relationship is groundbreaking, this research assesses the collaboration and examines the practices that are most effective to potentially replicate these Native-Local practices in other regions in the Southwest. SANDAG and SCTCA have a viable working relationship, however, we want to know how this relationship can be improved and expanded to support long-term sustainability and resiliency for Tribes in San Diego County. The research is grounded in a place-based, oral history format that supports Indigenous traditional knowledge formation and current practices within the discipline of American Indian Studies to blend cultural studies methodologies with transportation policy analysis of the overall regional history of transportation development to examine relevant social, political, and cultural issues impacting the lives of First Peoples. Data collection included: 1) Tribal interviews and transcriptions to develop the oral history, 2) Critical review of the history of Southern California Tribal transportation and mobility, and 3) Development of a GIS Story Map of the territory described with transportation corridors, Tribal roads, and other relevant data provided in the oral histories.