2025 – GOVERNMENT

Lynn Valbuena is a member the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and is currently serving her sixth term as tribal Chairwoman. In 1977, Valbuena began a 17-year career with the San Bernardino Police Department starting out as a court officer and stenographer. After finishing the required self-defense courses and foundational training required, she became a Police Assistant. With more training and instruction in public speaking and information sharing she then became the department’s Public Information Officer, the position she held when she retired from the police force in 1994, when she was elected to her first term as Chairwoman of Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. For 30 years Valbuena has served in numerous roles within the tribe and external organizations, including Chairwoman of the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN), Secretary of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) and has served on the Board Trustees for the Autry Museum for 20 years. In 2011 Valbuena received the Indian Gaming Association Chairman’s Leadership Award and in 2012, the American Indian Leadership Award. In 2018 she received an Honorary Doctorate from Northern Arizona University (NAU) and inducted into the American Gaming Association Hall of Fame. Lynn Valbuena remains committed to the sovereign right of self-government for tribal nations, and the protection and preservation of Native American cultures.