THE TORRES MARTINEZ DESERT CAHUILLA INDIANS 

P.O. Box 1160 Thennal, CA 92274 
(760) 397-0300-FAX (760) 397-8146 
July 30,2012 

Honorable Mary Bono Mack 

U.S. House ofRepresentatives 
Washington, DC 20515 
RE: 
Support for H.R. 2903, to Amend the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act for Comprehensive and Consistent National Disaster Emergency 
Management including Tribal Governments 

Dear Congresswoman Bono Mack, 
I write on behalf of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians to ask that you support H.R. 
2903. The House bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to provide a federally-recognized Indian tribe authority to submit direct requests to the 
President of the United States for a federal or disaster declaration. Currently, tribal governments 
must navigate this process through the governor of their respective state. Respectfully, this 
process binds a tribal government's ability to act swiftly during emergencies and is not consistent 
with the government-to-government trust relationship between the United States and Indian 
Country. 

The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians are a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla and 
Chemehuevi Indians. The Torres Martinez Indian reservation is a federal reservation in Imperial 
and Riverside Counties in California, with a total land area of 24,024 acres. Historic sites on the 
Reservation include Toro Indian Village, the Coachella Valley Fish Traps, and the Martinez 
Historic District, which has what are believed to be the oldest Indian Agency buildings in 
California. The Torres Martinez Historical District consists of three buildings believed to be the 
oldest standing Indian Agency buildings in California and was placed on the National Registry of 
Historical Places in 1973 and is a California Point of Historical Interest. The old Bureau of 
Indian Affairs Schoolhouse, which still stands today, was built in 1907 and served as part of the 
center of Tribal activities. The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians were established by 
Executive Order on May IS, 1876. The uniqueness of our climate, geography and topography 
and the jurisdictional duplicity as the result of our reservation lands straddling two counties, 
makes the need for amendment to the Stafford Act even more important as it will provide for a 
more direct government-to-government dialogue in the event of a disaster. 


Congresswoman Bono Mack 
Page 2 of2 

H.R. 2903 will provide tribal governments' equal access to the public safety decision-making 
power when requesting a federal emergency disaster declaration. The Torres Martinez Desert 
Cahuilla Indian tribe has been working with FEMA, the National Congress ofAmerican Indians, 
to develop this bill which will provide tribal governments' equal access to much-needed public 
safety decision-making power when catastrophic disasters impact tribal communities. 
Thank you for your time and consideration in strengthening tribal self-governance and 
protecting all citizens ofthis country, and for support for passage of H.R. 2903. 

Sincerely, 

Mary L. Resvaloso 
Tribal Chairwoman