Valbuena Elected By Proclamation To Third Term As San Manuel Chairwoman

Lynn Valbuena

Lynn Valbuena

Lynn Rae Valbuena has been elected and sworn in to her third term as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians chairwoman.
Valbuena for more than two decades has been one of the tribe’s most visible personages. As a very young woman, she signed on in 1974 as a member of the tribe’s housing commission, and shortly thereafter went to work as a secretary with the tribal administration. She advanced to become assistant executive director of what was then referred to as the San Bernardino Indian Center.
She utilized her secretarial skills to land a job as a stenographer and court officer with the San Bernardino Police Department, where she transitioned into becoming a police assistant and then the department’s public information officer.
She was an active member of the tribe when it began operating a so-called Indian bingo parlor, and was involved, as well, in the expansion of that facility into a casino.
In 1995, she was a founder and the first chairwoman of the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, also known by its acronym TASIN, a regional tribal organization. She remained chairwoman until 2014, when she was first elected San Manuel’s tribal leader. In 2015, Valbuena was inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame by the American Gaming Association.
A trustee for the Autry National Center based in Los Angeles, Valbuena has now been a delegate to the National Congress of American Indians for 23 years, and has logged 18 years running as a member of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce California, Advisory Council. She is also on the board of directors for the Northern Arizona University Foundation, Flagstaff.
Valbuena was chosen by acclamation with no one opposing her bid for a third consecutive term as tribe chairwoman.
“I am humbled and honored that the people of San Manuel re-elected me as chairwoman,” said Valbuena.

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