| Barona Reservation Ethnology-Language: Kumeyaay Established: 1932 County: San Diego Acreage: 5,180 Population: 573 Location: Approximately 30 miles east of San Diego, near Lakeside, in mountain foothills near the Cleveland National Forest. Barona occupies a beautiful highland valley of more than 5,000 acres. Relocated twice, by Executive Order, since 1891, Barona is a thriving reservation with several ranches, small farms, a mission-style chapel, a tribal office and community center, built in 1997 in southwestern style architecture, outdoor recreational facilities and a newly opened Barona Cultural Center and Museum. The Museum has nearly 700 Native American artifacts on display and has an aggressive educational mission, serving a growing number of schools, university students and scholars. Barona's casino is one of the largest in California, with its new expansion. Library: Barona's library is one of the libraries set up under the ILSP (Indian Library Services Project) as administered by the San Diego County Library Outreach Division in the mid-1980's. The library is situated within the Barona Indian School which serves pre-schoolers and K-12 students. The collection has around 3,000 volumes, many old and outdated - leftovers from start up activities. Apparently kids keep recycling through the old books and are in desperate need of new books to keep them interested in reading. The library is open to the public but is somewhat removed from the main road, so not many outside visitors come into the library. Library hours are essentially school hours (8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.). Credentialed teachers act as library staff, helping kids find and circulate materials. Funding for the library comes from the State Title IV and Johnson O'Malley. Ten computers, in an adjacent room, lack some hardware and await networking. |
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