The tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, Mark Macarro works to strengthen the Pechanga tribe’s political rights and economic self-sufficiency in Southern California. In 2010, Mark Macarro joined the Native American Rights Fund as a board member to further its mission of defending the rights of Indian tribes across the United States.

1. Mark Macarro

2.  The tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño
Indians, Mark Macarro works to strengthen the
Pechanga tribe’s political rights and economic self-
sufficiency in Southern California. In 2010, Mark
Macarro joined the Native American Rights Fund as a
board member to further its mission of defending the
rights of Indian tribes across the United States.
In recognition of the special legal problems that Indian
tribes face, the Native American Rights Fund was
established in 1971 to provide legal aid to tribes
nationwide. The nonprofit defends the rights of tribes
in cases pertaining to tribal sovereignty, the protection
of natural resources, and Indian education, among
other issues.

3.  On the issue of tribal sovereignty, the Native
American Rights Fund helps tribes maintain
their sovereignty and exercise it in new ways,
by representing them in court cases or by
creating agreements among governments on
the federal, state, and tribal levels. For the
promotion of Indian education, the
organization develops the education
governance capabilities of tribes so that they
can ensure that school curricula include lessons
on the history and culture of each tribe.