A view of the reservation of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Photo by Jessica Ledezma / Facebook

Members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes are asking their leaders to remove all non-Indians from an area of the reservation that is under dispute.

The petition calls for the removal of "illegal aliens" by June 1, The Palo Verde Valley Times reported. It encourages tribal members to move to the area to prevent non-Indians from staking claims there.

The territory at issue is located in the western part of the reservation. The federal government considers the land to be under tribal jurisdiction.

But non-Indians -- who are being backed by the state of California -- say the land is not a part of the reservation. A lawsuit, known as French v. Starr, was filed in federal court in Arizona in an attempt to shift the boundaries in favor of non-Indians.

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