- Billboard near Yaamava’ defaced with anti-Indigenous Thanksgiving message.
- Online posts link incident to other yellow-letter freeway vandalism.
- Yuhaaviatam tribe condemns graffiti, highlighting history of stolen lands.
Those travelling to family for Thanksgiving last week through California’s San Bernardino County via I-10 may have been confronted by a hateful message.
A billboard belonging to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, which owns the nearby Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, was defaced with large printed yellow letters that said: “AMERICA IS NOT ON STOLEN LAND. YOUR ANCESTORS WERE CONQUERED. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.”
In addition to the painted slogan, a US flag was draped over the middle of the billboard.
According to several threads on Reddit, this appears to be the latest in a string of similar billboard defacements along this stretch of the I-10, each using the same large yellow lettering and delivering right-leaning or inflammatory messages.
One image uploaded to the thread r/InlandEmpire shows a Honda advertisement emblazoned with the slogan “PROTECT THE KIDS FROM MENTALLY ILL TRANS SHOOTERS. THEY’LL KILL AGAIN.”
‘Culturally Offensive’
The Yuhaaviatam, which also operates the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, told The Palm Springs Desert Sun it was made aware of the graffiti on Wednesday morning. By 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, it had been removed by the tribe.
In a statement, the Yuhaaviatam described the language as “deeply disappointing,” and “culturally offensive” – used by “those who choose not to reflect the values shared by most in our large Southern California community.”
Such actions stand in stark contrast to the values of respect and unity that have allowed not only the Yuhaaviatam, but local cities, counties, and communities of Americans, to grow and enjoy the blessings of America,” continued the statement.
“This is a criminal act, and we are working closely with the Yucaipa police department to identify those responsible and bring them to justice,” the tribe added.
Previously the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the tribe officially changed its name to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation in April 2025, explaining that the older name was imposed under colonial rule.
“Yuhaaviatam” (pronounced yu-HAH-vee-ah-tahm) means “People of the Pines” in the tribe’s native Serrano language. Likewise, the San Manuel Casino became the Yaamava’ Resort in 2001 following the completion of extensive renovations. The Serrano word “Yaamava’” means “spring” or “renewal.”
Ancestral Lands
The tribe’s ancestral homelands spanned the San Bernardino Mountains, valley, and high desert, where they lived for thousands of years before Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. settlement.
Their communities were devastated by missionization, disease, forced labor, and later violent displacement, including the 1866 Yuhaviatam Massacre that drove survivors into the mountains. In 1891, the federal government established the small San Manuel Reservation, a fraction of their traditional territory.
Today, the tribe invests in regional communities and honors its deep ties to the land from which its ancestors were once forcibly removed.
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