As of January 2022, there are 1,205 members enrolled in the Tejon Tribe, a vast majority residing in Kern County, many life-long residents in the Bakersfield area. Our Tribe went underserved for decades, many of our people are underprivileged, and have been for generations. Our push for federal re-affirmation was driven in great part to help our tribal members with the challenges they face. We are now focused on strengthening and empowering our tribe through health care, education, quality housing, and economic development.
OUR HISTORY
Our Tejon Tribal ancestors lived in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, along the southern tip of the San Joaquin Valley, our people are of the Kitanemuk nation. We were living in this part of California before it was part of the United States.
FEDERAL RECOGNITION
We are the only Tribal nation that is currently recognized in Kern County. After our Tejon Tribal leaders spent more than a decade petitioning the federal government for recognition, we finally received Tribal re-affirmation in January 2012.
TEJON TRIBE GOALS
After centuries of Tejon leaders’ efforts to ensure our tribal family remained connected, we persist in the pursuit of honoring our ancestors’ prayers: that our people remain as in the old days — a functioning Tribe, caring for each other, our community, and our ancestral lands.
