Former Los Coyotes Chairwoman Dies at Age 91; She Supported Barstow Casino Plans but Grew Intolerant of Detroiter Michael Malik

Los Coyotes Elder Katherine Siva Saubel
Keeper of Cahuilla Culture, Language

Katherine Siva Saubel, a former chairwoman of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians has died at age 92.  She was one of the last fluent speakers of the Cahuilla (Kah-WEE'-yuh) Indian language, who helped document the lore of the Southern California tribe.

Her nephew, Kevin Siva, tells the Los Angeles Times she died Nov. 1 at her home on the Morongo reservation near Banning.

Saubel was born in 1920 on the Los Coyotes reservation in San Diego County and was the eighth of her parents’ eleven children.  When she was four, her family relocated to the Palm Springs area where it is believed she was the first Native American woman to graduate from Palm Springs High School.

She married Mariano Saubel, a resident of the Morongo Reservation, in 1940.  They were married 45 years and the parents of a son. 

Saubel worked with researchers to produce a Cahuilla dictionary and grammar book and preserved the songs and medicinal lore of the threatened culture. In 1964, she helped launch the Malki Museum near Banning, the first nonprofit museum found and managed by American Indians on a reservation.

The Cahuilla (pronounced ka-wee-yah), once one of the largest California Indian tribes, are concentrated in Riverside and San Diego counties. Among the more prominent Cahuilla bands are the Morongo and the Agua Caliente band in Palm Springs.

In 1998, as an activist, Saubel brought electricity to the Los Coyotes Reservation near Warner Springs in San Diego County. She would later be embroiled in a bitter fight to eject certain tribal members from the Reservation.

Then, for the better part of the first decade of the new millennium, Saubel served as Los Coyotes’ Chairwoman.  In partnership with Barwest LLC, a Detroit-based casino syndicate organized by Marian Ilitch and Michael Malik, she attempted to establish an off-reservation casino for the Los Coyotes Indians in Barstow (CA), midway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. 

After experiencing a string of failed schemes and disappointing setbacks, Saubel grew increasingly frustrated with and skeptical of Mike Malik.  When she could no longer take his bullying and intimidation she simply terminated Los Coyotes’ exclusivity agreement with Barwest.  Malik was furious.  Saubel told reporters Malik was ‘The Devil’ and alleged he was responsible for ‘seducing’ younger members of the Los Coyotes tribe. 

Subsequently, Malik and his operatives had Saubel removed as Los Coyotes’ chairwoman.  As her replacement he recruited the young and inexperienced Shane Chapparosa, one of the younger members of the tribe whom Saubel had accused Malik of seducing.

Saubel received an honorary PhD in philosophy from La Sierra University, Riverside, California, and was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by theUniversity of California at the University of California, Riverside.

Funeral mass and burial for Dr. Saubel are scheduled for Nov. 8 at St. Mary’s Indian Mission and St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Banning.

Among the various tributes to Dr. Saubel:

• Banning Beaumont Patch: Malki Museum Closed Tuesday to Honor Co-Founder, Katherine Siva Saubel, PhD
• Gannett:   Native American culture expert dies at 91
• Idyllwild Town Crier: Dr. Katherine Siva Saubel passed away Tuesday, Nov. 1
• Indianz.com:  Katherine Siva Saubel, Los Coyotes scholar, passes on at 91
• Los Angeles Times:  Katherine Siva Saubel, preserver of Cahuilla culture, dies at 91
• Malki Museum:  Memories Celebrating Dr. Katherine Siva Saubel
• Riverside P-E:  Katherine Siva Saubel remembered for her accomplishments
• Sacramento Bee:  So. Calif. Indian activist Katherine Saubel dies
• The Desert Sun: Cahuilla elder, icon Katherine Siva Saubel dies

National Women’s Hall of Fame

Wikipedia

Malki Museum History

Barwest (Malik, Ilitch) Behind Earlier Los Coyotes Dispute; Tribal Elder calls Malik "Devil," says he's "Seduced" Younger Members

Dispute threatens to split Los Coyotes tribe
11.01.2007

By Malcolm Maclachlan

An internal disagreement over whether to continue the relationship with their longtime business partner is threatening to split the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians.

The tribe joined with a Detroit-based management company in 2003 as part of their effort to land a casino. After yet another setback in that effort, the tribe's longtime leader wants to sever ties with Barwest LLC and its owner, Michael Malik. Another faction in the tribe may be on the verge of attempting to oust her, Saubel said.

The result has been a barrage of accusations and counter allegations.

Los Coyotes has been in the news in recent months as the tribe sought to work with another tribe, the Big Lagoon Rancheria, to open a casino in Barstow. (Los Coyotes' reservation is located in San Diego County. Big Lagoon is in Humboldt County.) Saubel claimed that Barwest and Malik "have done nothing" for the tribe except make empty promises.

"Why should we give [Malik] another chance when there are other people who want to help us?" Saubel said. "He's standing in our way."

Saubel said the 300-member tribe is now divided into two approximately equal halves. Her group includes most of the older tribal members, she said. They also remain allied with the investment firm Barronhaus and its principals, Barron Maisel and Gretchen Belli.

The other side is led by a pair of younger tribal leaders, Shane Chapparosa and Tina Johnson. Saubel said this group includes the rest of the Chapparosa family and many of the tribe's younger members. They remain allied with Barwest.

"We are planning on moving forward with Barwest," said Chapparosa, who is listed as the tribe's vice spokesperson. He said he continues to work under Saubel.

When told that Saubel had made conflicting statements, he indicated that the dispute could be settled by next week. "We have some internal tribal matters that we need to take care of," Chapparosa said.

Capitol Weekly has acquired numerous and contradictory documents detailing the relationship between Barwest and Los Coyotes. A spokesman for Barwest, Tom Shields, characterized the leaking of these documents as "part of a long line of efforts by people who want to derail this project." One of these documents was a September 28 letter from Saubel to Malik and Barwest, written on tribal letterhead.

"The tribe is in the process of starting over," Saubel wrote. "As part of this new beginning, and at least for the time being, the Tribe will disengage from LCB Barwest LLC."

Shields characterized this as part of an ongoing discussion, and said the tribe never entertained serious offers from any other outside management company. He denied that there was any "dispute" within the tribe.

"There are confidential letters that have gone back and forth between the tribe," Shields said. "It's unfortunate that there are folks out there who feel they need to distribute confidential information."

In another complication, Barwest owns the Barstow land on which the tribe hopes to build their casino. In her letter, Saubel wrote "regardless of whether Barwest comes to work with us again as a developer and casino manager, the tribe hopes to negotiate the purchase of the Barstow real property owned by LCB Barwest."

Shields said that Barwest "provided the financing part of that is purchasing the land," and the parties still intend to build there. In a Wednesday story in a local Barstow paper, the Desert Dispatch, Malik was quoted as saying he would not sell the land to the tribe if they were no longer working together.

In the meantime, Shields said, the tribe had cut ties with the Barronhaus. This was indicated in an October 17 letter from the tribe’s official counsel, Joel Bernstein of the firm McDermott Will & Emery. "The tribe voted on October 14, 2007, to sever all business relationships with you. You are not to represent to any third party that you represent the tribe."

"We had some deep concerns about some of the people who were involved with the tribe," Shields said. "They have severed that relationship."

Not so, said Saubel. She said Barronhaus has "done a good job" and continues to work with the tribe. She said the letter in question was drafted by Bernstein but never sent. When asked how the letter got out, Saubel said she didn't know. However, the tribal offices were broken into over the weekend and numerous internal documents were stolen, she said.

Maisel also said that his company continues to work with Los Coyotes. Barronhaus started working with Los Coyotes in 2002, and actually brought Barwest in the next year, a decision he said was a mistake. He also said a lawsuit filed against them by Barwest in June was a "frivolous" attempt to force them out and that papers were never served. Maisel went on to allege the Barwest was the source of the letters leaked to the media.

"The source is Tom Shields trying to split the tribe in two," Maisel said.

Big Lagoon chairman Virgil Moorehead said that his tribe is no longer involved with the Barstow Casino effort and are going ahead with a solo attempt to build a casino on their own lands, 750 miles to the north. The two tribes had a deal with the state to pursue a shared casino in Barstow, but that expired six weeks ago.

"Since September 17, we're focused on Big Lagoon and our negotiations with the state," Moorehead said.

Senator Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, proposed a gaming compact for the tribes this year in SB 157. The bill never moved out of committee and was amended in September to become a measure on licensing wine growers. The Michael Malik Sr. Trust contributed $2,000 to Wiggins' Senate campaign last year.

Saubel said there is a council-only meeting today to discuss the casino efforts--a meeting she was not invited to be but plans to attend anyway. A full tribal council meeting is set for mid-November. Saubel claimed the Malik has "seduced" the younger member of the tribe and called him "the devil himself."

"I was 83 when we started this. I'm 87 now," Saubel said. "I think he's just waiting for me to keel over."

NOTE: This wouldn't be the first time Mike Malik "seduced" younger members of a tribe. In the early 2000s, a married Malik had an affair with the Heather Lufkins, the young daughter of then Bay Mills Indian Community chair John Lufkins. She has alleged in court that Malik coerced her into lying during his subsequent divorce proceedings to shield real estate assets for his advantage.

On the Los Coyotes Reservation, There's a History of Dispute Resolution akin to the Wild West

Indians aim to drive family from tribe in vicious dispute

4.09.2000

By Chet Barfield

Staff Writer

LOS COYOTES INDIAN RESERVATION -- Cattleman Frank Taylor rips hay from a bale, tossing handfuls to a dozen cows & calves that came running like puppies at the toot of his pickup horn.

Cattle, he explains, "are very clannish." If one group strays into another's territory, "those cows will hook them & chase them out."

Taylor, 61, is learning about that firsthand. He & his extended family are the focus of a dispute that's tearing apart this remote reservation in the mountains above Warner Springs, 70 miles northeast of San Diego.

Tribal Chairwoman Catherine Saubel & her followers are trying to banish the Taylors from the tribe. They openly hate the family of 20, whose late patriarch, Banning Taylor, ran the reservation for almost 50 years before his death in 1998 at age 92.

The Taylors refuse to budge. They've hired a lawyer to plead their case to the Sheriff's Department, Congress & the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Tensions that have simmered for years are reaching the breaking point. A brawl erupted at the monthly tribal meeting in March when the Taylors defied an edict not to attend. Sheriff's deputies were called to break up the fight, which caused some cuts & bruises but prompted no arrests.

Many up here fear things could get worse. Hot-tempered foes of the Taylors are brandishing guns & making threats. Frank Taylor keeps a weapon of his own within reach -- "for shooting rattlesnakes," he says.

Each side points fingers at the other: "Two men in a white pickup (like Taylor's) tried to run over our kids." . . . "My dog was shot in the face." . . . "I've had two dogs poisoned in the past year. . . . "

And, from the Taylors: "Our cattle have been shot." . . . "My grandson was almost grabbed out of our car." . . . "My fences & corrals have been vandalized. . . . "

"When a dog gets shot, he (Taylor) gets blamed for it whether there's evidence or not," said sheriff's Deputy Scottie Dawson, who has been patrolling Los Coyotes & other North County reservations since 1991. "It's been going on since before I was a deputy out here."

How did it come to this? Much of the answer dates back to the 1930s, when Banning Taylor was adopted into the tribe.

Born in Warner Springs, Taylor, a cattleman, moved in the early 1900s onto a 157-acre homestead that juts into the southwestern border of the 25,000-acre reservation. He raised his two sons there. (One died in 1986.)

In 1934, Taylor was adopted by tribal vote into the Los Coyotes band, which consisted of a Cahuilla Indian village in the mountains overlooking the Anza-Borrego Desert, & some Cupeños occupying the foothills near Warner Springs.

The tribe now has 290 members, only about 40 of whom live on the reservation. Half of those residents are Taylors.

The late patriarch's Indian blood -- or lack of it -- has been an ongoing issue of contention.

"He's a white man," said the chairwoman's brother, Cahuilla elder Alvino Siva. "And all of his children, if you check their birth certificates, are all white."

Banning Taylor publicly claimed to be of mixed ancestry, Irish & Cupeño. Yet stories persist, passed down for generations, that he tricked his way into the tribe.

Some say he was a bootlegger who got the Indians drunk or did them other favors. Others say tribal members who spoke no English were told the adoption vote was only to grant Taylor a work permit.

"Banning Taylor has lied & lied & lied. He was a smart man, smart crook-wise," said Cupeño elder Ruth Cassell, 73, who left the reservation in her childhood but returned in the 1960s. "He was a white man. He could get jobs for the Indians. He got liquor for the Indians, too.

"He was the only one who had a truck. He used to go someplace & get fresh vegetables -- bananas, celery, sometimes lettuce & tomatoes. . . . He used to bring it, & we'd be glad to see him."

Frank Taylor says he has records proving his Cupeño lineage back to Juan Antonio Garra, leader of a notorious 1851 Indian uprising. He said he brought the documents to a tribal meeting last year, but Saubel wouldn't accept them.

Taylor also has copies of a 1978 U.S. Interior Department administrative ruling in which critics, including Saubel, tried & failed to have Banning Taylor's adoption declared invalid.

The department's Indian affairs bureau sent a letter March 30 to Rep. Ron Packard -- with a copy to Saubel -- stating it still stands by that ruling, & it would be "inappropriate (for the tribe) to raise the issue of the validity of the adoption of Banning Taylor Sr. or to attempt to disenroll his family upon these grounds his long tenure as chairman from the mid-1940s until 1996, when old age & ill health forced his retirement.

Critics say Taylor took care of his own & ignored the tribe's needs. One example was the power & phone lines, which until two years ago stopped at the Taylor ranch. His family lived in comfort while Indians on the other side of the hill lived in trailers & shacks with wood stoves & kerosene lamps.

Power lines were brought to the poor side in 1998; seven months after Saubel took office. But the project was started by Frank Taylor, who had been chairman the previous two years.

Frank Taylor says -- as his father did -- that tribal members themselves voted down the power extension in the 1970s because they distrusted government grants. He says his family members work & bought what they have with their own money.

Throughout Banning Taylor's years as chairman, Saubel & others accused him of taking government funds without putting them to use for the tribe. Now the Taylors are saying the same about Saubel.

The 80-year-old chairwoman dismisses these as white man's lies. She issued an edict -- backed by a vote at the March meeting -- giving the Taylors 60 days to document their enrollment or get out.

"We want them out, out of the reservation, because that reservation is for Indians, not blondes, blue-eyes & redheads," said Saubel, who left Los Coyotes as a youth & lives on the Morongo reservation near Palm Springs. "If I was white like them, I wouldn't want to be stuck in there with the Indians."

Tribal secretary Francine Kupsch said she & many others believe the Taylors are not legally enrolled & should have no rights in the tribe.

"It's all B.S.," she said of the 1978 ruling on Banning Taylor's adoption, "because nobody can decide our membership up here. Only we can."

Saubel ousted as Los Coyotes chairwoman; new tribal chair has been compensated by Barwest

At a meeting of the Barstow City Council on 1.07.08, BarWest spokesman Tom Shields revealed that Katherine Siva Saubel had been ousted as chair/spokesperson of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians sometime in December 2007.

The new tribal chair/spokesperson is Francine Kuspch. Francine has been the "star" of several moments of political theater staged by BarWest in its quest to win approval to develop casinos in Barstow. Political disclosure documents indicate Barwest has previously compensted Kupsch for some of her "starring" roles.

Controversy erupted last fall when Saubel, then tribal chairwoman, wrote a letter terminating the Los Coyotes tribe's relationship with Barwest and Michael Malik. Saubel's communications referred to Malik as "the devil." Saubel indicated Malik had "seduced" younger members of her tribe.

Barwest spokesman reports no significant progress in effort to bring casino to Barstow

Tom Shields, spokesman for Detroit-based BarWest Gaming LLC, appeared at tonight's meeting of the Barstow City Council and reported, "There has really not been any significant change in our (BarWest) effort to bring Casino gaming to Barstow." The BarWest casino scheme has been stalled, making no significant progress, since 2005; despite periodic representations otherwise by Shields.

Although California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a strict policy of confidentiality regarding negotiations that may be ongoing with specific tribes, Shields continues to make public statement indicating negotiations with the Governor are in progress presumaby breaking with the Governor's policy requiring confidentiality, and leading some to speculate that in fact there are no active discussions underway.

Shields, once again, brought along two members of the Los Coyotes tribe but there has been no appearance by leaders of the Big Lagoon Rancheria in Barstow for months -- one news story indicated Big Lagoon was no longer involved with the Barstow casino effort although Shields has attempted to suggest otherwise.

Political disclosure documents indicate both individuals who accompanied Shields to the City Council meeting representing themselves as leaders of the Los Coyotes tribe have previously been paid by BarWest to make appearances in Barstow.

Shields and Shane Chapparosa, one of those who represents himself as a leader of the Los Coyotes tribe, reported that there had been elections but represented there were no significant changes in the make-up of the Tribal Council. They failed to mention whether or not Katherine Siva Saubel remained as chairwoman/spokesperson for the tribe.

A news article published in November reported that Saubel, who terminated the tribe's agreement with BarWest referred to BarWest principal Michael J. Malik, Sr. as "the Devil." Saubel and her nephew Kevin Siva were noticeably absent from the Barstow City Council meeting.

Further, Shields was forced to admit that a draft Environmental Impact Study (EIS) required by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on the two casinos BarWest has proposed had made no progress at the Department of Interior.

Barstow Council to hear first casino update since stories that Los Coyotes terminated Michael Malik and BarWest

As posted 12. 16.07 at the Desert Dispatch:

Government Report: City Council to discuss casino projects, new city manager
FROM STAFF REPORTS
BARSTOW— At 7:30 p.m. on Monday the Barstow City Council will meet to hear an update about casino projects proposed for the city and to discuss strategies to hire an interim and permanent city manager.

A casino update had been previously scheduled for the 12.03.07 City Council meeting but was pulled from the agenda at the last minute by Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale.


The spokeswoman for the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, Katherine Siva Saubel sent a letter to Michael Malik at BarWest terminating the tribe's agreement with Barwest back in September. And in addition, Saubel referred to Malik in a subsequent news story published 11.01.07 as "the Devil."

Documents recorded 10.01.07 with the County of San Bernardino indicate BarWest quit claimed property to a partnership (PGMC Investors) that includes the father of City Councilman Steve Curran. Previously PGMC transferred title on another parcel to BarWest LLC which BarWest combined with other properties in its portfolio and then subsequently divided into new parcels.

The Council meeting tonight can be watched live on line (using Windows Media Player) at 7:30 pm pacific time or at any time there after by logging in at http://barstow.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

Los Coyotes tribal leader calls Barwest's Mike Malik "devil;" says he has "seduced" younger tribal leaders

Los Coyotes tribal spokeswoman and tribal elder Katherine Siva Saubel recently called Michael J. Malik, Sr. the "devil" and said he has "seduced" younger members of the tribe to jump aboard Malik's band-wagon. Among other things, Malik's group paid younger members of the tribe to appear in Barstow as "grassroots" volunteers during the 2006 election primary:

11.01.07
"Saubel said there is a council-only meeting today to discuss the casino efforts--a meeting she was not invited to be but plans to attend anyway. A full tribal council meeting is set for mid-November. Saubel claimed the Malik has 'seduced' the younger member of the tribe and called him 'the devil himself.'
" 'I was 83 when we started this. I'm 87 now,' Saubel said. 'I think he's just waiting for me to keel over.' "

Mike Malik and Mrs. Marian Ilitch are the principals behind the Detroit-based casino syndication BarWest LLC. Malik and Ilitch have proposed building several off-reservation casinos for tribes from opposite ends of California on a site that Barwest owns in Barstow, California.

Ilitch and her husband Mike Ilitch are the co-founders of the Little Caesars Pizza franchise. The family also owns the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, MotorCity Casino, Detroit's Fox Theater and other sports, entertainment and restaurant operations.

Malik and the Ilitches are behind stalled proposals to build unorthodox off-reservation casinos in Port Huron, Michigan; Barstow, Califorina; and in The Hamptons on New York's Long Island. (see also: Detroit Free Press exposes Malik/Ilitch casino enterprises)


Members of the Bay Mills Indian Community have expressed concerns about Malik's involvement in their casino ventures as well as a business venture involving the research and manufacturing of various plastics products. Rumors have circulated among Bay Mills members to suggest the FBI is investigating the plastics venture.

In 1999 the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) failed to grant Michael Malik a gaming license and he was forced to transfer his interests in Detroit's MotorCity Casino to Marian Ilitch before the casino could open its doors to the public.

Last year, following a two-year investigation, California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) fined Malik's Barwest LLC on two counts for failing to report a $26,600 contribution Malik made to the San Joaquin County GOP Committee in 2004 -- Malik paid a $6,500 fine; and TVT has learned the FPPC is investigating numerous unreported political contributions and questionable lobbying payments Barwest's Malik made in 2006.

Documents detailing BarWest/Los Coyotes split, related matters

Various articles the last week have indicated that the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians has parted ways with its casino developer Detroit-based BarWest, LLC (Marian Ilitch and Michael Malik) after the tribe's unratified Gaming Compact with the state expired.

The articles also indicated a rift among leaders of the Los Coyotes tribe; and involvement of a second partner Barronhaus LTD, and possibly Lee Iacocca or Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts.

The catalyst for these articles was a packet of documents sent to various reporters which memorialize the circumstances. They included:

• Letter from Michael Malik (LCB BarWest, LLC) to tribal spokeswoman Katherine Siva Saubel expressing surprise and dismay at being abandoned by the Los Coyotes Band of Indians - October 11, 2007


• Letter from Los Coyotes tribal spokeswoman Katherine Siva Saubel terminating the tribe's partnership with LCB BarWest, LLC - September 28, 2007


• Letter from Lance Boldrey, Dykema law firm, to Full House Resorts (Lee Iacocca) memorializing telephone conversation and dispelling possible conflict of interest - April 12 2007


• Emails between Boldrey and representatives for Lee Iacocca/Full House Resorts - April 12, 2007


• Letter from Los Coyotes counsel to Barron Maisel and Gretchen Belli (Barronhaus LTD) terminating the tribe's partnership with the Palm Desert-based investor - October 17, 2007


• Agreement establishing a partnership between Barronhaus LTD and the Los Coyotes Band of Indians - May 2003

Barwest has spent $19 million advancing Los Coyotes' Barstow casino; now pulls funding for land-into-trust process

Michael J. Malik, Sr., manager for Detroit-based casino syndicators LCB BarWest, LLC, sent a letter to Los Coyotes tribal spokeswoman Katherine Siva Saubel responding to her September 28, 2007 letter terminating the partnership between the tribe and BarWest.

In the letter, Malik is quite surprised the tribal elder has notified him of the termination. Malik sites among other things:

• BarWest has spent $19 million to date trying to get the Los Coyotes casino resort plans approved.
• A solid relationship between BarWest and UNITE-HERE's international labor leaders.
• BarWest's desire to retain new lobbyists and a new PR firm in Sacramento.
• Confussion over who represents the Los Coyotes tribal leadership today.
• Termination of BarWest's financial support for the EIS being preapred by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of the land-into-trust process.
• An unwillingness to sell land in Barstow currently owned by BarWest to the Los Coyotes Indians. An application was made to the BIA in March 2006 to transfer that land into trust for the tribe. That process is now on hold.

Malik's partner in LCB BarWest, LLC is Mrs. Marian Ilitch. Her husband Mike Ilitch owns the Detroit Tigers and they also own the Detroit Red Wings, Little Caesars Pizza and MotorCity Casino.

LCB Barwest response to termination by Los Coyotes Band of Indians

Los Coyotes tribe dumps Detroit-based casino syndicator BarWest, LLC (Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr.)

On September 28, 2007, the spokeswoman for the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians Katherine Siva Saubel terminated the tribe's partnership agreement with Detroit-based LCB Barwest, LLC to build a casino resort in Barstow.

Saubel sites Barwest's inability to get legislative ratification of Compacts signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 as the primary reason. Saubel notes with the failure to win ratification this past year, the Compact has expired and the tribe must now begin negotiations for a new Gaming Compact with the state.

Saubel indicates the tribe plans to conduct a search for a developer once its has a new agreement with the Governor and promises LCB BarWest, LLC will be included in that process.

Saubel also indicates the tribe is interested in acquiring land held by BarWest, LLC in Barstow which the tribe is currently seeking to have taken into trust by the Deparment of Interior.

Letter Terminating LCB BarWest, LLC

Los Coyotes tribe split on casino matters

11.01.07

Dispute threatens to split Los Coyotes tribe

by Malcolm Maclachlan

An internal disagreement over whether to continue the relationship with their longtime business partner is threatening to split the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians.

The tribe joined with a Detroit-based management company in 2003 as part of their effort to land a casino. After yet another setback in that effort, the tribe's longtime leader wants to sever ties with Barwest LLC and it's owner, Michael Malik. Another faction in the tribe may be on the verge of attempting to oust her, Saubel said.

The result has been a barrage of accusations and counter allegations.

Los Coyotes has been in the news in recent months as the tribe sought to work with another tribe, the Big Lagoon Rancheria, to open a casino in Barstow. (Los Coyotes' reservation is located in San Diego County. Big Lagoon is in Humboldt County.) Saubel claimed that Barwest and Malik "have done nothing" for the tribe except make empty promises.

"Why should we give [Malik] another chance when there are other people who want to help us?" Saubel said. "He's standing in our way."

Saubel said the 300-member tribe is now divided into two approximately equal halves. Her group includes most of the older tribal members, she said. They also remain allied with the investment firm Barronhaus and its principals, Barron Maisel and Gretchen Belli.

The other side is led by a pair of younger tribal leaders, Shane Chapparosa and Tina Johnson. Saubel said this group includes the rest of the Chapparosa family and many of the tribe's younger members. They remain allied with Barwest.

"We are planning on moving forward with Barwest," said Chapparosa, who is listed as the tribe's vice spokesperson. He said he continues to work under Saubel. When told that Saubel had made conflicting statements, he indicated that the dispute could be settled by next week. "We have some internal tribal matters that we need to take care of," Chapparosa said.

Capitol Weekly has acquired numerous and contradictory documents detailing the relationship between Barwest and Los Coyotes. A spokesman for Barwest, Tom Shields, characterized the leaking of these documents as "part of a long line of efforts by people who want to derail this project." One of these documents was a September 28 letter from Saubel to Malik and Barwest, written on tribal letterhead.

"The tribe is in the process of starting over," Saubel wrote. "As part of this new beginning, and at least for the time being, the Tribe will disengage from LCB Barwest LLC."

Shields characterized this as part of an ongoing discussion, and said the tribe never entertained serious offers from any other outside management company. He denied that there was any "dispute" within the tribe.

"There are confidential letters that have gone back and forth between the tribe," Shields said. "It's unfortunate that there are folks out there who feel they need to distribute confidential information."

In another complication, Barwest owns the Barstow land on which the tribe hopes to build their casino. In her letter, Saubel wrote "regardless of whether Barwest comes to work with us again as a developer and casino manager, the tribe hopes to negotiate the purchase of the Barstow real property owned by LCB Barwest."

Shields said that Barwest "provided the financing … part of that is purchasing the land," and the parties still intend to build there. In a Wednesday story in a local Barstow paper, the Desert Dispatch, Malik was quoted as saying he would not sell the land to the tribe if they were no longer working together.

In the meantime, Shields said, the tribe had cut ties with the Barronhaus. This was indicated in an October 17 letter from the tribes official counsel, Joel Bernstein of the firm McDermott Will & Emery. "The tribe voted on October 14, 2007, to sever all business relationships with you. You are not to … represent to any third party that you represent the tribe."

"We had some deep concerns about some of the people who were involved with the tribe," Shields said. "They have severed that relationship."

Not so, said Saubel. She said Barronhaus has "done a good job" and continues to work with the tribe. She said the letter in question was drafted by Bernstein but never sent. When asked how the letter got out, Saubel said she didn't know. However, the tribal offices were broken into over the weekend and numerous internal documents were stolen, she said. Maisel also said that his company continues to work with Los Coyotes.

Barronhaus started working with Los Coyotes in 2002, and actually brought Barwest in the next year, a decision he said was a mistake. He also said a lawsuit filed against them by Barwest in June was a "frivolous" attempt to force them out and that papers were never served. Maisel went on to allege the Barwest was the source of the letters leaked to the media.

"The source is Tom Shields trying to split the tribe in two," Maisel said.

Big Lagoon chairman Virgil Moorehead said that his tribe is no longer involved with the Barstow Casino effort and are going ahead with a solo attempt to build a casino on their own lands, 750 miles to the north. The two tribes had a deal with the state to pursue a shared casino in Barstow, but that expired six weeks ago.

"Since September 17, we're focused on Big Lagoon and our negotiations with the state," Moorehead said.

Senator Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, proposed a gaming compact for the tribes this year in SB 157. The bill never moved out of committee and was amended in September to become a measure on licensing wine growers. The Michael Malik Sr. Trust contributed $2,000 to Wiggins' Senate campaign last year.

Saubel said there is a council-only meeting today to discuss the casino efforts--a meeting she was not invited to be but plans to attend anyway. A full tribal council meeting is set for mid-November. Saubel claimed the Malik has "seduced" the younger member of the tribe and called him "the devil himself."

"I was 83 when we started this. I'm 87 now," Saubel said. "I think he's just waiting for me to keel over."

Big Lagoon intends to return to development on its Reservation; public urges council to move on

9.18.07

Tribes update council on casino plans
Big Lagoon may build back home; land into trust process to continue


By JASON SMITH, staff writer

BARSTOW — Big Lagoon could be breaking out the bulldozers back at their Northern California home instead of in town.

After Monday night’s expiration of an agreement allowing a casino to be built in Barstow, the tribe will begin site preparation work to possibly build a casino on their Humbolt county reservation, according to a representative for the tribe.

This action does not necessarily mean that the tribe has abandoned its Barstow plans, but Big Lagoon seeks to begin negotiating with the governor’s office for an agreement to build on their reservation, said Lance Boldrey, an attorney with BarWest LLC., speaking for the tribe.

The Big Lagoon tribe along with the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians have proposed developing a dual off-reservation casino near the outlet malls in Barstow, but the proposal has stalled in the state legislature.

Representatives from BarWest LLC., developer of the project, as well as the members of the Los Coyotes tribe were at Monday’s City Council meeting to tell the public about their plans to continue with the casino project despite the expiration of the agreements.

Boldrey said that the project’s proponents will focus on securing the future site of the casino into a federal trust, a necessary step before an off-reservation casino is approved, but said the expiration of the compacts, agreements between the tribes and the governor, could complicate the process.

"The process is more difficult today because the compacts have not passed and Federal officials will want to make sure that casino development is in the best interest for the community," Boldrey said.

Representatives of the Los Coyotes tribe said that despite the defeat, they will still proceed with their plans.

"We intend to make the commitment to move forward," said Kevin Siva, tribal council member of the Los Coyotes tribe.

His aunt, the tribe’s 87-year-old chairwoman, Catherine Siva Saubel, addressed the council in her native Cahuilla language and then switched to English. She stressed the tribe’s need to continue with the casino’s development.

"We are still in Barstow because we need each other," she said. "Economically we depend on that. For us I have a home with no running water no electricity. The same things here with people around. We’re both in the same boat."

Members of the Chemehuevi Indian tribe, which also is proposing to build a casino in Barstow, were also present at the meeting. They stressed the tribe’s local connection to the Barstow area.

"This connection is important, it’s cultural, it’s your tribe," said Phil Wyman, former state assemblyman and now a lobbyist for the tribe.

Wyman said that those ties to the area will give the tribe more political clout to navigate the lengthy legal process to develop a casino.

"This tribe, the Chemehuevi tribe, can come together get a compact and bring some prosperity here. … I want everybody in Barstow to be the winner, I don’t give a damn about the people in Michigan," he said.

Some members of the public fed up with the length of the development process have suggested that the council focus on bringing any casino to Barstow rather than picking a particular tribe’s proposal.

"I don’t care what tribe it is, what developer it is. I want a casino. And if you guys can’t produce, you should let somebody else try the job," said Pat Aleman, speaking to the council.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4126 or jason_smith@link.freedom.com

Don't expect the truth from Barwest on matters of Native American history or ancestral territories

The principals, partners and agents of Detroit-based Barwest LLC (including Marian Ilitch, Michael Malik, Tom Shields, Lance Boldrey, Virgil Moorehead, Katherine Saubel, Kevin Siva and Shane Chaparossa among others) have demonstrated time and time again that they can't be trusted when it comes to matters of Native American history in the Mojave Desert or ancestral ties to the greater Barstow area.

Consider the following example of sloppy disregard for the truth.

For more than a year, the official Barwest Web site barstowcasinosandresort.com has posted the following false "factoid" among others on its Barstow History page:

"The aboriginal territory of the Chemehuevi Indians (of which the membership of the modern Chemehuevi Tribe is composed) was located to the west of the Vanyume's territory."

from barstowcasinosandresort.com/history.html

The truth is, the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation is located on the California shore line of Lake Havasu and the Colorado River. Lake Havasu and the Colorado River are located east of Barstow and the area believed to be the ancestral lands of the Vanyume people.

And it's generally understood and accepted by all -- except apparently Barwest, LLC and its tribal partners -- that the bulk of the Chemehuevi ancestral territory is located to the east of Barstow/Mojave River; not the west.

The Antelope Valley Indian Museum indicates what is commonly understood by most:

"The Vanyume shared a territorial boundary with the Chemehuevi to the northeast."

You may want to review these related posts:

• Barstow official & Barwest attorney kept their knowledge of reported Chemehuevi campsite in City of Barstow hush-hush
• Tom Shields, Liar! Liar!
• Casino developer may have mislead Schwarzenegger's negotiator to get approvals for twin casinos
• Another tribe accomplishes what Marian Ilitch's Team (Barwest) says is 'impossible'
• Casino developer has track-record of dishonesty and deceipt
• Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians makes its home on the southernmost of Cahuilla Reservations
• Cahuilla traditional territory was south of the San Bernardino Mountains

Look who took part in preliminary discussions about Big Lagoon/Los Coyotes casinos

The following is reproduced from a “sign-in sheet” completed by those who attended a 2004 meeting in northern California to discuss a preliminary proposal for two off-reservation Indian casinos and resorts in Barstow, CA, to be developed and managed by Detroit-based Barwest, L.L.C. for the Big Lagoon Rancheria Indians (Humboldt County) and Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians (San Diego County).

SIGN-IN SHEET

Name	Tribe/Company
Peter Engstrom	Baker & McKenzie (Counsel, Big Lagoon)
Virgil Moorehead	Big Lagoon
Shawna Neyra	Big Lagoon
David Neyra	Big Lagoon
Jake Miklojcik	Michigan Consultants
Heather Sibbison	Patton Boggs/Barwest
Lance Boldrey	Dykema Gossett/Barwest
Anna Kimber	Tribal Attorney/Los Coyotes
Katherine Saubel	Los Coyotes
Kevin Siva	Los Coyotes
Marc A. Palazzo	Barronhaus (Los Coyotes)
Michael G. Rossetti	Akin Gump for Los Coyotes
Robert Guenthardt	Barwest (former chair Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Manistee, MI)
Ron Rector	City of Barstow
Lawrence E. Dale	Mayor City of Barstow
Michael J. Malik	Barwest
John Feliz	Big Lagoon

DOI Associate Secretary encourages Los Coyotes to reconsider on-reservation casino; discourages Barstow scheme

THE ASSOCIATE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
WASHINGTON, DC 20240

February 13, 2007

The Honorable Catherine Saubel
Chairwoman, Los Coyotes Band
of Cahuilla & Cupeňo Indians
P.O. Box 189
Warner Springs, California 92086

Dear Chairman Saubel:

The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla & Cupeňo Indians (Tribe) has proposed that the United States take 20 acres in trust for a proposed casino project located in Barstow, San Bernardino County, California. The Tribe, which has approximately 288 members, owns approximately 25,049.63 acres of land in trust near Warner Springs, California over 115 miles from the proposed project.

Generally, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) permits Indian Tribes to establish gaming operations on Indian lands upon which the tribe exercised jurisdiction as of October 17, 1988. Clearly, the Tribe did not exercise jurisdiction on the subject parcel in 1988, therefore it cannot be used for gaming purposes as a matter of law. However, IGRA provides several exceptions in Section 20 of IGRA.

The application from the Tribe seeks to obtain approval under an exception referred to in Section 20 of IGRA. Section 20 allows tribes to conduct casino gaming off-reservation if certain conditions are met. Please be advised that we share the concerns that many have expressed with off-reservation gaming and so-called “reservation shopping.” During the 109th Congress, legislation was introduced in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives that would have significantly restricted or eliminated the options currently available to Indian tribes under Section 20.

As a result of the public concerns being reflected in the aforementioned proposed legislation and other concerns advanced by local jurisdictions, the Department will be reviewing the regulations that govern the processing of fee-into-trust applications (25 CFR Part 151). We anticipate changes to the rules that may result in fewer off-reservation properties being accepted into trust. In particular, we expect to consider a paradigm where the likelihood of accepting off-reservation land into trust decreases with the distance the subject parcel is from the Tribe’s established reservation or ancestral lands, and the majority of tribal members.

Further, we plan to review our approach for soliciting and accommodating the views of elected officials (State, county, city, etc.) and community members in the local area as part of our IGRA Section 20 decisions. We also plan more detailed consideration of the broad implications associated with new gaming operations with established communities where gaming is not currently conducted.

Finally, we expect continued Congressional efforts during the 110th Congress to restrict or terminate the options currently available under Section 20. Consequently, the Department plans to review its approach to evaluating Section 20 gaming applications to ensure that we are able to justify to concerned Congressional leaders any action the Department may take to approve an off-reservation gaming application.

Because the Department has not considered the relative merits of your Section 20 application yet, we cannot advise you further about its prospects for approval. We know that pursuing a Section 20 gaming application can be a long challenging, and expensive process. We urge you to become fully aware of the changing environment and to discuss the risks of pursuing an off-reservation gaming application with your tribal council, legal counsel, and business partners. In addition, we urge you to consider fully the relative risks, costs, and benefits of pursuing an alternative on-reservation gaming initiative.

After your thoughtful review of the changing gaming environment, and if you should decide to commit the resources required to pursue your application further, we will work with the Tribe, representatives of local jurisdictions, the public, and Congress to ensure that we can properly evaluate your application.

Sincerely,

James E. Cason

Copy of Original Letter from James E. Cason to Catherine Saubel

• DOI Associate Secretary encourages Big Lagoon Rancheria to re-consider casino location closer to reservation; discourages Barstow scheme

Cahuilla traditional territory was south of the San Bernardino Mountains

from the Salton Sea Ecosystem Restoration Draft PEIR, February 14, 2007:

click map for larger image

CAHUILLA
The Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California. It was bounded to the north by the San Bernardino Mountains, to the south by Borrego Springs and the Chocolate Mountains, to the east by the Colorado Desert, and to the west by the San Jacinto Plain and the eastern slopes of the Palomar Mountains (Bean, 1978).

The Cahuilla used a wide range of wild resources, such as acorns and piñon nuts, deer, desert bighorn sheep, rabbits, fish, and quail. The Cahuilla settlements were generally located at high elevations in well-watered canyons or on fans near streams and springs and at lower elevations near natural springs (Moratto, 1984). The Cahuilla had well-developed trade networks with neighboring Serrano, and Diegueño groups and cultivated corn, beans, squashes, and melons (Bean,1978).

CUPEÑO
The Cupeño occupied a small mountainous area about 10 miles in diameter at the headway of San Luis Rey River (Bean and Smith, 1978a). The Cupeño used a wide range of wild resources, such as acorns and piñon nuts, deer, desert bighorn sheep, rabbits, fish, and quail.

The historic village of Cupa, also called Warner Springs Ranch or Agua Caliente Village, is located east of Lake Henshaw on State Highway 79 near Warner Springs, California. The 200 acre (0.8 km²) Cupeño Indian village site is now abandoned, but evidence of its historical importance remains. The beautiful valley of Agua Caliente in which the village was situated lies at an altitude of 3,000 feet (1000 m), and is home for many kinds of wildlife, native shrubs, grass, and evergreen oaks.

NOTE: over the years, Lowell Bean has been a frequent scholarly collaborator with Catherine Siva Saubel, currently Spokeswoman for the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation. Saubel is a resident of the Morongo Reservation in Riverside County and founder and Chairwoman of the Malki Museum at Morongo.

Sacramento lawmakers and journalists aren't getting the whole truth from Los Coyotes tribe's elder nor her partners

08.25.06

comments by Catherine Siva Saubel attacking fellow leaders of other Cahuilla Indian Tribes:

"They (lawmakers) really listen to them," said Saubel, who contends her tribe's remote, mountainous land in San Diego County is unsuitable for a casino. "We're ignored. They have all the lawyers and the money. We don't have anything. "They call themselves Indians. I call them greedy." Click here for article

Certainly Catherine Saubel, the elder of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians has heard the saying about people in glass houses, or the one about the pot calling the kettle black. And someone ought to tell her the story of Pinocchio -- the wooden puppet whose nose grew longer with each false story he told.

Let's examine what she said ... and didn't say with her published comments.

Unsuitable?
Saubel’s not telling the whole truth. Her tribe is free to develop a modest sized casino on their reservation lands and could have done so by now but that’s not good enough. The tribe could open a class II casino like the Hard Rock Casinos in Florida with very little outside approval.

Saubel says her reservation is "unsuitable for a casino." Perhaps unsuitable for the kind of casino Barwest wants to build; or needs to build in order to satisfy the return the investors in their syndicate require. With the current Barstow Plan, her partners get to develop and manage two full-scale Las Vegas style resorts with a 5,000 total slots, two spas, convention faclilities, two hotels and more right beside Interstate-15 between Las Vegas and Southern California.

The Los Coyotes Indians have a 25,000 acre reservation. Their casino in Barstow was originally approved for 20 acres. Is she suggesting that there's no where on that entire reservation (the largest in San Diego County) with a 20 acre site suitable for construction? If that's the case, how will the reservation ever be a viable home for her people? And how is it that the Los Coyotes' neigbors at Santa Ysabel have been able to do it on a similar remote, mountainous ... and smaller reservation.

Most Disadvantaged?
Saubel often tells the story of how her tribe didn’t have electricity on the reservation until 1998.
Guess what ... the neighboring Santa Ysabel Tribe didn’t get electricity until five years later and they’ve got three times the number of people living there. They opted to build a modest casino on their reservation, within existing guidelines, because they see it as a way to finance additional electricity, water and road improvements on their reservation lands. And it means jobs right there in their own backyard, not two or three hours away.

She talks about how her “home” doesn’t have running water of electricity. What she’s talking about is some place her family once called "home" on the vast 25,000 acre reservation back in the earlier part of the 20th Century. She hasn’t lived on the Los Coyotes Reservation since she was 4 years old. In fact she built her Museum and her home on the Morongo Reservation, 2 hours away by car, in Riverside County.

While Saubel has lived at the Morongo Reservation, and traveled the world, a new generation of leaders at the neighboring Santa Ysabel Tribe moved backed to their ancestral homelands and have built a brand new casino resort right in their own backyard; it’s less than 10-miles from the Los Coyotes Reservation.

The Santa Ysabel Reservation faces similar geographical challenges (and both reservations are similar drive times from Los Angeles); yet this week they opened their $27 million, 35,000-square-foot casino project which has 349 slot machines and was financed with a bank loan guaranteed by the Yavapai-Apache Nation of Arizona. Certainly the Arizona tribe and the lenders wouldn’t fund a project that didn’t appear to be feasible.

Who's greedy?
Apparently a modest casino is not satisfactory to Saubel; or those Detroiters who have adopted her tribe in order to exploit the opportunity to develop and manage her casino. Her tribe and their well-healed Detroit business partners seek to build a $168 million, 210,000 square foot casino, hotel, spa and convention complex with 2,546 slots, plus 48 table games and several poker rooms on land off-reservation and outside of the Los Coyotes Band's ancestral territory.

The Los Coyotes Reservation is the largest, by far, in San Diego County with 25,000 acres. Certainly there's a contiguous 10-20 acre parcel suitable for development.

Who's stepping on toes?
In relocating to Barstow, Saubel doesn’t think twice about squeezing out San Bernardino County tribes and others whose ancestors have survived the Mojave Desert for centuries -- tribes like the Chemehuevi or the Shoshone and others.

Who's spending $ Millions on lawyers, political campaigns and lobbying activity?
In fact, with her blessings, her development partners have spent at least half a million dollars this past year alone on political campaigns and lawyers in order to block San Bernardino County tribes and others from pursuing plans to develop a casino in Barstow. Those tribes have circumstances equal to or greater than Saubel’s tribe. There are no records to indicate they've had half a million dollars of out of state money spent to protect their ancestral claims this past year.

And the people behind Saubel have paid three lobbying firms more than $500,000.00 to represent Los Coyotes' interests in Sacramento this past year and another $100,000.00 the first 90-days of 2007 -- their objectives, trying to convince legislators that this move is good public policy; and damage the credibility of southern California based tribes including Saubel's Cahuilla brothers and sisters.

Let's not forget the $1.1 million Saubel's Los Coyotes Tribe gets from the established gaming tribes' trust fund each year.

Where's that check going and how's that money being managed?

The individiual representing herself as a wise and measured elder who questions the fellowship and integrity of other regional tribes should look deep within her own soul before she makes sensational comments in the future. In doing so today she brings shame to all parties including herself, her tribe and fellow Cahuilla people and perpetuates an unfortunate stereotype.