| Torres-Martinez Reservation Ethnology-Language: Cahuilla Established: 1876 County: Riverside and Imperial Acreage: 24,024 Population: 1,628 Location: North of the Salton Sea, at a point halfway between Highway 86 and Highway 195, in the Coachella Valley. A stark contrast from its neighbor gaming tribes of Cabazon and Agua Caliente, Torres Martinez has not developed much of their reservation. Some agri-business (dates, alfalfa and legumes) takes place on this desert land, but little else, other than grants, keep the tribe in business. The ruins of the old government Indian Agency, built in 1907, are considered a national landmark as they are thought to be the oldest Indian Agency buildings still standing in California. They give the reservation an eerie, ghostly, but charming character - especially after the glitz of the casinos. Library: The library at Torres Martinez is located in an activity room
in the education center. Shelves of approximately 1,500 uncataloged books line the room.
No one staffs the library, but the center is open roughly between 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday. A Youth Coordinator works ½ time in the library area, so helps out
somewhat with library functions. Several old computers line one of the walls in the room.
A Riverside County bookmobile visits the reservation on Wednesday nights. The closest
library is twenty miles away in Coachella. A new HUD building is expected to break ground
in six months and the new education center will house the library in that location. The
reservation's grant writer, Ken Castro, is pursuing a number of grant opportunities to
support the library's growth and improvement. |
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