LA28 Olympic surfing venue sits on sacred land; tribe seeks recognition

The related video above includes footage from a press event from earlier this year, in which LA28 officials said they remained confident that athletes will be able to enter the U.S. for the Olympics despite President Trump's travel ban.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KSWB/KUSI) – Following surfing’s successful debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the sport will return to the world stage at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

In April 2025, Olympic organizers announced that the iconic waves of Lower Trestles, in San Clemente, California, will be the official venue for 2028 surfing competition. This stretch of coastline lies within the ancestral homelands of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation — a fact tribal leaders are determined will not be overlooked. 

For many, Trestles is known for its pristine waves, but fewer realize it’s also a cultural and spiritual epicenter for the Acjachemen people that has shaped their identity for more than 9,600 years.

Their deep connection to the land has never wavered. In the early 2000s, the tribe helped lead a 15-year grassroots movement to protect Pahne, a nearby sacred site, from a proposed six-lane toll road that would have cut through the San Mateo watershed and threatened the breaks at Trestles. In 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom passed AB 1436, legislation that permanently protects the area from road and infrastructure projects — a victory that would not have been possible without the leadership and persistence of the Acjachemen Nation.

Despite their long history of stewardship, Acjachemen Tribal Chairman Nathan Banda said the tribe was not consulted during the Olympic site selection process. 

“I would hope that being the organization that they are, that they should know proper protocol is to reach out to the tribe and ask for permission and see how we feel about this,” Banda said. 

In the wake of the announcement, the tribe initiated outreach to Olympic organizers to ensure their presence and heritage would be acknowledged. Tribe members told Nexstar's KSWB/KUSI that they have yet to receive a response.

Organizers with LA28 told FOX 5/KUSI: “With the competition venues now finalized, LA28 looks forward to engaging the communities around each venue, including Trestles Beach, in the near future.”

Banda stressed the importance of a formal land acknowledgement and tribal participation in the Olympic Games’ ceremonies, pointing to their recent collaborations with the World Surf League as a model. In 2021, WSL invited Acjachemen representatives to lead opening and closing ceremonies that included traditional prayers and blessings for the event, and this meaningful inclusion has continued. The WSL 2025 Lexus Trestles Pro, the most recent WSL event held at Trestles, included a traditional blessing, cultural performances and custom-designed trophies honoring the Acjachemen. 

The tribe hopes the Olympic Committee will show the same respect. The tribal council recently adopted an official land acknowledgment, supporting these efforts. 

“Proper protocol would be that the nation would be represented at the event, but in the event that we cannot attend, then they would have the land acknowledgment for someone to read,” Banda said.

He expressed another major worry. The tribe is concerned not only about the lack of consultation but also the potential impact of large crowds on the ecosystem. It is important that natural resources are preserved and don’t get disrupted, Banda said.

However, despite these concerns, Banda sees the LA28 Games as a powerful and exciting opportunity.

“We’re excited that this historic event will be taking place in our tribal territory, and it will afford us the opportunity to help educate the Olympics organization as a whole, along with visitors coming from all over the world, about our protocols and our people, and for them to be able to be immersed in our culture and educated,” he said.

Readers can learn more about the Acjachemen Nation at their official website.

The Acjachemen have long collaborated with organizations like Surfrider Foundation and WSL’s One Ocean program to protect this coastline. Their joint efforts include beach cleanups, habitat restoration and public education around Indigenous ecological knowledge.