Anna Prieto Sandoval
| Anna Prieto Sandoval | |
|---|---|
| Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation leader | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 14, 1934 Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation Reservation |
| Died | October 28, 2010 (aged 76) Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation Reservation |
| Cause of death | Complications of diabetes |
| Spouse(s) | Married twice |
| Children | Five children |
| Known for | Native American gaming pioneer who improved housing and helped lift her reservation out of poverty |
Anna Prieto Sandoval (May 14, 1934 – October 28, 2010) was an American leader of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation of southern California and a Native American gaming enterprises pioneer. She is credited with lifting the Sycuan Band reservation, which was plagued by poverty and substandard housing, to self-sufficiency by pioneering casino gambling on the reservation.
Sandoval was born on May 14, 1934, on the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation reservation. She grew up speaking the Kumeyaay language as her first language. Her mother, Ada Prieto, was also born on the Sycuan reservation. Sandoval attended Dehesa Elementary and Grossmont High School in El Cajon, California.
Sandoval was married twice and raised five children. Her first marriage, which occurred in 1953, ended in divorce. She attended Grossmont College in El Cajon after raising her children. Sandoval later taught the Kumeyaay language at San Diego State University.
Sandoval became the chairwoman of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation in 1972. In 1972, the year she took office, none of the eighty Sycuan members who resided on the reservation had full-time employment. The housing on the reservation lacked indoor plumbing, with a small meeting hall and a deteriorating one-hundred-year-old Catholic Church. Most structures were on the reservation were dilapidated.
Sandoval spearheaded the Sycuan Band's transition from poverty after the state of California allowed Native American tribes to open gambling operations. She initially resistance from the Sycuan tribal council regarding the idea of opening a bingo hall on reservation land. Members were concerned about potential pollution and large numbers of people swamping the small reservation. However, Sandoval was approached by Pan American International, which operated a Seminole bingo hall in Florida at the time, with a proposal to open a bingo hall on Sycuan land.
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