WHEREAS, Pu’éska Mountain represents the place of the Sacred Creation Area for all Pechanga Band of Indians; and

WHEREAS, Each year, since 2012, the City of Temecula has observed “Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day” on November 15, and Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day reminds the community of the native heritage of the Pechanga Band of Indians; and

WHEREAS, Pu’éska Mountain is the Pechanga Band of Indians’ place of the union of “Sky-Father” and “Earth-Mother”, where life on earth began at‘Éxva Teméeku therefore holding profound cultural, historical, and spiritual importance to all the Pechanga Band of Indians for all time; and

WHEREAS, In the mid-2000s, Pu’éska Mountain was threatened to be permanently desecrated by an open-pit mining proposal known as the Liberty Quarry project, the most contentious land use issue ever faced in the County of Riverside; and

WHEREAS, The Pu’éska Mountain story is remembered as a collaborative and united effort by the Pechanga Band of Indians, Save Our Southwest Hills, San Diego State University, the City of Temecula, tens of thousands of citizens, business owners, community stakeholders, and all who worked tirelessly to stop the destruction of an environmentally and culturally sensitive mountain; and

WHEREAS, The proposed Liberty Quarry surface mine would have irreversibly ruined the Sacred Creation Area of the Pechanga Band of Indians; and

WHEREAS, For the Pechanga Band of Indians, the proposal was personal: Pu’éska Mountain is the place of the Sacred Creation Area for the Pechanga Band of Indians; and

WHEREAS, The battle officially ended on November 15, 2012, with the Pechanga Band of Indians’ purchase of the land, reuniting Pu’éska Mountain with its original stewards to be preserved for future generations through a historic settlement agreement negotiated by the Pechanga Band of Indians; and

WHEREAS, Pu’éska Mountain became a symbol to many communities of people enduring the seven-year battle to protect it from a devastating and massive quarry, and strengthened and bonded its surrounding communities in a common cause worth protecting until the end; and

WHEREAS, Each year the City of Temecula and the Pechanga Band of Indians

have observed Pechanga Pu’éska Mountain Day with a gathering of cultural activities in the Town Square at the City Hall; and

WHEREAS, The City of Temecula is proud to have proclaimed a local holiday dedicated to better understanding and celebrating the culture and heritage of the Pechanga Band of Indians and the Native Americans; now, therefore, be it