In 1867, a band of Chemehuevi people settled the land around what would become Twentynine Palms. Their descendants are still there — though the path between then and now ran through smallpox, a famous manhunt, forced displacement, and the long work of federal recognition, casino development, and stewardship agreements with the national park that the tribe helped shape for generations.
The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians of California identifies as Chemehuevi, a people of the southern Great Basin whose territory extended across parts of what are now California, Nevada, and Arizona. While some outside scholars have classified the tribe as Luiseño, the tribe itself holds to its Chemehuevi identity. The Chemehuevi Cemetery in Twentynine Palms holds fifty to sixty graves — as many were reported in 1909 — including the grave of Old Jim Boniface, a tribal leader who died in 1903 at age ninety, and those of thirteen of the fourteen children of Jim and Matilda Pine, likely lost to smallpox. California designated the cemetery a Point of Historical Interest in 1974. Congress formally conveyed the acre of land containing the cemetery to the Twentynine Palms Park and Recreation District in 1976.
In 1909, a Chemehuevi-Paiute man named Willie Boy killed a tribal member named Mr. Boniface following a confrontation over the man's daughter, Carlota. A posse led by local law enforcement pursued Willie and Carlota through the desert for days. Carlota was found dead at The Pipes in northwest Yucca Valley — shot in the back. Willie Boy died on Ruby Mountain. The tribal community was shattered by the incident and its violent aftermath. After the manhunt, the tribe left Twentynine Palms and relocated to the Mission Creek Reservation. Their return to the area and the long process of reclaiming a foothold took decades.
Today the tribe's reservation exists in two sections: one near Indio and Coachella in Riverside County, and a smaller portion in Twentynine Palms itself in San Bernardino County. The tribe's headquarters is in Coachella. In 1995, the tribe opened the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella; in 2014, the Tortoise Rock Casino opened in Twentynine Palms. In 1997, the band established its own Tribal Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with the US EPA, overseeing water quality and environmental programs on tribal lands.
In December 2022, Joshua Tree National Park announced a stewardship agreement that would formally involve the tribe in the park's management and development — a recognition, however partial and overdue, that the Chemehuevi people who settled this land in 1867 are still its stewards.
The tribe's Twentynine Palms area is centered at 34.12°N, 116.05°W, adjacent to the Marine Corps base and the eastern reaches of Joshua Tree National Park. The Chemehuevi Cemetery lies near the intersection of Highway 62 and Adobe Road in Twentynine Palms. Nearest airports: Twentynine Palms (TNP), Desert Resorts Regional (PSP) ~35 miles south.