Most people think Native land was taken in one dramatic moment. For the Cahuilla, it was far more calculated. Their homeland in the Coachella Valley was fragmented through government policy that divided land into tiny parcels not to help Native people, but to weaken their ability to stay together, protect water, and control their future. This checkerboard system still affects Cahuilla communities today. It limits access to sacred sites, complicates land management, and makes self-determination h