The reestablishment of the United Auburn Indian Tribe began when the Department of Interior documented the existence of a separate, cohesive band of Maidu and Miwok Indians, occupying a village on the outskirts of the City of Auburn in Placer County.
In 1917, the United States acquired land in trust for the Auburn Band near the City of Auburn and formally established a reservation, known as the Auburn Rancheria. Tribal members continued to live on the reservation as a community despite great adversity.
In 1953, the United States Congress enacted the Rancheria Acts, authorizing the termination of federal trust responsibilities to a number of California Indian tribes including the Auburn Band. With the exception of a 2.8-parcel containing a tribal church and a park, the government sold the land comprising the Auburn Rancheria. The United States terminated federal recognition of the Auburn Band in 1967.
Finally, in 1970, President Nixon declared the policy of termination a failure. In 1976, both the United States Senate and House of Representatives expressly repudiated this policy in favor of a new federal policy entitled Indian Self-Determination.
In 1991, surviving members of the Auburn Band reorganized their tribal government as the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) and requested the United States to formally restore their federal recognition. In 1994, Congress passed the Auburn Indian Restoration Act, which restored the Tribe’s federal recognition. The Act provided that the Tribe may acquire land in Placer County to establish a new reservation.