NAHC urges complaint to state Attorney General regarding Barstow’s CEQA-related practices

California’s Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) has urged the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe to file a formal complaint with California Attorney General Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. demanding an immediate investigation into the CEQA-related practices of the City of Barstow.

The environmental review process underway for a dual casino project to be built in Barstow by Detroit-based developer Barwest LLC has triggered awareness that local tribes routinely identified by California’s Native American Heritage Commission as having ancestral ties to the Barstow area may have been purposefully excluded from the environmental review process on that project and others since at least March 1, 2005.

In a letter dated August 13, 2007 to the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe; Dave Singleton, NAHC analyst expresses, “…the Commission is concerned that state law may have been violated if the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe was not given full and reasonable opportunity to comment on and express concerns on either a project planned under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or Government Code 65352.3,5 (SB 18). If consultation was not provided under either of these two acts of the California Legislature by the City of Barstow or its agent; then the tribe in our opinion has a right to file a complaint with the California Attorney General and the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO).”

He concludes the letter by stating, “I am of the opinion that Waiting ten (10) months from the time the City of Barstow and/or its agent receive a Native American consultation list form (sic) the Native American Heritage Commission to offer the opportunity for the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe to consult on this important project may indeed be a violation of the spirit and/or the letter of the CEQA Guidelines and Government Code §65252.3 (sic).”

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC)
The NAHC is the state commission responsible for advocating preservation and protection of Native American human remains and cultural resources. NAHC maintains confidential records concerning places of special religious or social significance to Native Americans, including graves and cemeteries and other cultural places. The NAHC reviews CEQA documents to provide recommendations to lead agencies about consulting with tribes to mitigate potential project impacts to these sites.

The NAHC is responsible for maintaining a list of California tribes and contacts for each respective tribe; and is responsible for identifying which tribes have ancestral lands or cultural places within a particular local government’s jurisdiction.

Barstow General Plan Documents name tribes with historical ties to the greater Barstow area

From the City of Barstow's General Plan:

IV.2 ARCHAEOLOGIC AND HISTORIC RESOURCES
CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN
Technical Report


IV.2.26 - CULTURAL/HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Ethnography
At the time of Spanish contact, the project area was occupied by the Vanyume Native American group. Little is known of the Vanyume other than they appear to be a small population of hunters and gatherers exploiting a large area between the Kitanemuk to the west, the Serrano to the south, the Kawaiisu to the west, and the Chemehuevi to the north and east (Greenwood and Mcintyre, 1979:28). Their territory centered along the Mojave River from the Daggett-Barstow area eastward about one-third of the way from the river to the Providence Mountains, and westward to the Serrano territory...

...The Vanyume became extinct through missionization in the 1770s, with the Chemehuevi, Mojave, Serrano, and possibly Chumash moving into their area...

General Plan states any Barstow project must involve local consultations, names 4 Tribes acknowledged by BLM

From the City of Barstow's General Plan:

IV.2 ARCHAEOLOGIC AND HISTORIC RESOURCES
CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN
Technical Report

IV.2.5 - Native American Concerns
Another category of resources which is included under prehistoric resources, includes ethnographic elements pertaining to Native American issues and values. It would be presumptuous for any non-Native American to draw conclusions about the special concerns which the local Native American community may feel towards a specific project. Native Americans recognize all prehistoric sites within their territory as art of their heritage. Potential disturbance and destruction of any resource can adversely affect the values of their culture and their ability to transmit these values to future generations. Therefore, any project must involve consultation with and involvement from local and regional Native American cultural entities as listed by the Native American Heritage Commission. The local Barstow office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains a listing of representatives of Native American groups who claim an association with the Barstow area; specifically the Serrano, Kaaiisu, Fort Mojave, and Chemehuevi.