November 15, 2022 is the 10th Anniversary of Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day. Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day was proclaimed a City holiday by the City of Temecula in 2012 to celebrate the native culture and heritage of the Pechanga Band of Indians. The City of Temecula, in partnership with the Pechanga Tribe, has proudly observed “Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day” together each year on November 15th. “We thank the City for remembering this day and honoring our people, our heritage, and our shared community,” said Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro. “Our Tribe was deeply moved and inspired by the passion and resolve of the community to preserve Pu’éska Mountain for future generations. That determination deepened the bonds between our two governments and strengthened the fabric of our shared community.”
The story behind Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day was created into a powerful, award-winning film in 2019 by Brad Munoa, a member of the Pechanga Band of Indians and a Writer, Director, and Producer for the Pechanga Creative Studios. It documents the 7-plus year monumental people’s movement and its momentous culmination in the protection of Pu’éska Mountain, and the quality of life for the people in Temecula. The proposed "Liberty Quarry" would have been among the largest gravel pits in the United States and would have excavated Pu'éska Mountain. "More than just a development vs. environment story, The Mountain that Weeps explores which force is stronger, the power of community, the corruption of politics, or reverence for the sacred," as stated on the website www.mountainthatweeps.com.
Temecula Mayor Matt Rahn, who worked for San Diego State University at the time as Director for the SDSU Field Stations Program and the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, which shared a boundary with the proposed Liberty Quarry, led the University's efforts to protect the identity and integrity of the land, and the significant benefits of the research and educational programs conducted there. He comments: “As proposed, this was going to be one of the largest mining operations of its kind, causing significant quality of life concerns for Temecula residents and businesses, and devastating, permanent damage to sensitive biological, cultural, and hydrological resources. This area represents the last of so many things for Southern California - the last inland to coastal wildlife linkage, the last fully-protected free-flowing river, home to many endemic and sensitive species, and most importantly, a significant sacred cultural legacy for Pechanga that could never be replaced. After nearly eight years of a very intense and often contentious battle, on November 15, 2012, Pechanga announced the purchase of this mountain and, unquestionably, that remains among the best days historically for the City of Temecula.”
The annual holiday is an opportunity to commemorate the profound ways in which the Pechanga Tribe, Temecula’s first peoples, has shaped the community’s character and heritage, and to thank the Tribe for saving Pu'éska Mountain and, in doing so, protecting the quality of life in Temecula.
Join us for the 10th Anniversary of Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day:
Temecula City Hall, 41000 Main Street (Outside; Front Steps)
Tuesday, November 15, 2022, 4pm (We Encourage Early Arrival for Seating)
-Mountain that Weeps Documentary Film Viewing
-The Great Oak Press
-Proclamation Recital
-Appetizers/Dessert and 10th Anniversary Souvenirs