About

Tomkav is a Luiseno (Payonkawichum) village and burial site in Northern San Diego County that is part of the Luiseno creation story. It is currently being desecrated by Palomar College and Pardee Homes, who intend to build a four-lane road through Tomkav that would lead to a planned 844-home development and Palomar College satellite campus.

Palomar College and Pardee Homes have disregarded the requests of Luiseno tribes regarding the treatment of their ancestral burial ground, including their central request that the new road be re-routed in a way that does not pave over Tomkav. The San Luis Rey tribal council recently filed a lawsuit against Pardee Homes and the County, and has also filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in order to halt work at the site.

During the course of grading and excavation to prepare for the new roadway, many archeologically significant new discoveries have been made, and dozens of Luiseno burials have been unearthed. California law requires that when new discoveries of human remains occur, construction projects must be put on hold until the materials can be analyzed, which could lead to project modifications. Pardee and Palomar College have disregarded legal protocol by carelessly proceeding with grading and construction activities, and in fact they sped up work as soon as San Luis Rey took legal action against them.