Ousted Indians Protest at Mission

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — About 25 members of the Juaneno Indian tribal group, angry that they have been barred from holding monthly meetings at Mission San Juan Capistrano, showed up at the mission Saturday to protest, then decided to avoid confrontation and meet peacefully at another location nearby.

Indian leader David Belardes had vowed earlier to force his way into the mission gymnasium, where the Juanenos have been meeting for more than 10 years.

But, he said Saturday, he then called Lt. Dan Martini of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and promised not to cause trouble.

Belardes and Msgr. Paul M. Martin of the mission have recently been at odds over treatment of Juanenos who work on the mission grounds.

“I guess Father Martin wants to extend his personal vendetta against me to all the Juaneno people,” Belardes said at the gathering outside the mission.

However, Robert McCreary, a spokesman for Martin, denied that there was anything personal involved.

“It was a decision made independent of Mr. Belardes,” McCreary said. “This parish has grown from about 600 people to about 3,000. We decided we could no longer allow non-parish groups to use the mission grounds as a meeting place.”