Showing posts with label Reservation Expansion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reservation Expansion. Show all posts
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Bay Mills Indians Add 842 Acres to Reservation Lands
(4310-W7-P)
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Proclaiming Certain Lands, Forest Service Lands, as an Addition to the Bay Mills Indian Reservation for the Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Reservation Proclamation.
SUMMARY: This notice informs the public that the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs proclaimed approximately 842 acres, more or less, to be added to the Bay Mills Indian Reservation for the Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ben Burshia, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Division of Real Estate Services, Mail Stop 4639-MIB, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240, telephone (202) 208-7737.
http://www.ofr.gov/(S(wazba0ica4mvwik3ct5fd2jk))/OFRUpload/OFRData/2011-21263_PI.pdf
Blog NOTE: Detroit Casino Syndicator Michael J. Malik, Sr. has partnered with the Bay Mills Indians on various gaming and business ventures proposed both on and off reservation lands.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Editorial: Strict prohibitions on reservation-shopping and off-reservation gaming
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 Editorial
Our view: Gambling limits
Strict conditions proper for off-reservation casinos reaction?
Two decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the doors for Indian tribes to operate casinos, and the benefits have been impressive. Many tribes have converted the public's appetite for betting into a reliable revenue stream to address the socioeconomic needs of disadvantaged people.
Tribal gambling income differs from that in the profit-driven private sector. It is the equivalent of a tax base to pay for services a sovereign entity provides to its constituency. For that reason, the 1988 Indian Regulatory Gaming Act has been a success that must be preserved. Still, there needs to be limits.
The federal law allowed tribes and states to enter compacts so the tribes could operate casinos on lands held in trust for them in 1988. Only under a narrow set of conditions could they open casinos on lands they obtained after that date.
After 19 years, Northern Quest Casino, operated at Airway Heights by the Kalispel Tribe, is one of only three off-reservation casinos in the nation. That was due largely to the hostile topography on the Kalispel Reservation and a shortage of suitable water.
At present, however, about 30 tribes have proposals in the pipeline to build casinos on land off their reservations – and not because their land suffers the kind of challenges that hampered the Kalispels. Such an expansion of gambling would pose social problems serious enough to offset the benefits tribes have gained.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs recently warned in a letter to the Warm Springs Tribe in Oregon that approval for off-reservation casinos is going to become harder to get. If that prediction holds up, it's welcome news, but it appears to be based on political circumstances that are in flux.
The letter cites congressional efforts to clamp down on tribal casinos, but that came primarily from Congressman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., who was defeated and whose party lost control of Congress. Moreover, the Bureau of Indian Affairs' cautionary letter to the Warm Springs is said to reflect the feelings of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, whose tenure will probably end when President Bush's does.
Meanwhile, considerable wealth and momentum are working in favor of a radical expansion of tribal gambling. The Mohegans of Connecticut – whose mammoth Mohegan Sun is set for a $750 million expansion – are bankrolling several other casino proposals around the country.
One would give the Cowlitz Tribe in southwest Washington one of the largest casinos in the country. The Mohegans even have their eyes on properties in the Caribbean.
The Kalispels were able to open Northern Quest because the law contained an exception to compensate them for an unavoidable disadvantage. Congress and others who share in the oversight role for tribal casinos, should keep it from being stretched into a loophole.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=188441
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Senator Ashburn please don't turn your back on constituents in favor of Detroit billionaires and richer tribes from north coast enclaves
Senator Roy Ashburn is robbing hundreds of his own constituents of the one chance to truly change the quality of life for themselves, their families and the greater 18th District community.
Ashburn has elected to back the previously rejected casino agreements that billionaires behind a Detroit Casino Syndicate negotiated on behalf of their newly adopted Native American partners – partners who also make their homes far outside the 18th District.
Ashburn demonstrates little regard for the struggle and needs of more than 1,000 constituents enrolled as members of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe located in the south east corner of his sprawling 18th Senate District and hundreds of other Native Americans who consider the Mohave Desert their ancestral homelands.
Perhaps it’s simply a case of “out of sight, out of mind” and not an intentional act to withhold opportunities from his own constituents. The Chemehuevi Reservation is located 268 miles across the Mohave Desert from Ashburn’s Bakersfield home.
The City of Barstow first approached the Chemehuevi Tribe about business partnerships in the mid-1990s. The tribe had been consulted by the City on various archaeological matters in Barstow and leaders at the City, like local historians, recognized the ties the tribe’s ancestor had with the Greater Barstow area.
The Barstow City Council awarded a municipal agreement to the Chemehuevi Tribe during the Fall of 2005, nine months before the City awarded valid agreements to the Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes partnership. However, since 2003, it has been reported that the Detroit Casino Syndicate has pulled out all the stops to block any other proposals from moving forward in Barstow.
It should be noted the median household income among Ashburn’s constituents at the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation is less than $20,000 per year which must be spread among three individuals per household. Roughly a third of the Chemehuevi population lives below poverty levels.
Mike and Marian Ilitch share a spot with Oprah Winfrey on Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans -- their net worth estimated to be at least $1.5 billion; their seven children and their families share in the Ilitch Family fortunes. They gave away almost $900,000 in individual political contributions during the last four or five years.
The extended Moorehead family that makes up the Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribe gets $55,000 per capita annually for each adult member (20) just from the larger tribes' revenue sharing trust fund program. Moorehead's family owns a small hotel and other buinsess in the general area. The California Department of Finance indicates the state’s median household income is $46,900; that’s before taxes. Big Lagoon’s at $75,000-$100,000 per household just from the trust funds alone and that’s not subject to taxes nor does it consider the tribe's other business ventures.
Senator Ashburn makes at least $110,000 each year on his legislative salary alone plus expenses of $138 per day for each day the legislature is in session. He’s benefited when the people like those behind the Detroit Casino Syndicate have generously contributed to his campaign funds.
Why not afford your constituents a break Senator Ashburn? The Moorehead Family (that's who makes up the Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribe) at home on the "pristine" Big Lagoon in Trinidad, a short walk from the Pacific Ocean, appears be doing just fine and the Ilitch Family, ranked #242 on Forbes list of "Richest Americans," has got airplanes, a baseball team, Stanley cups and second homes and plenty needed to take care of generations to come.
The Verifiable Truth (tVT) like nearly everyone else we’ve heard from is extremely disappointed in Senator Ashburn’s decision to support the compacts rejected last year in the Assembly. It is going to continue a program of block and delay. By doing so, Senator Ashburn perpetuates the exclusivities awarded the Detroit Casino Syndicate for five years that have already cost Barstow and other High Desert Communities dearly.
More troubling is the lack of respect Ashburn has shown for the hard working Indian tribes whose ancestors have struggled to make their homes in the High Desert for centuries. By approving plans to transplant tribes’ casinos clear across state to Barstow on lands that traditionally are recognized as the ancestral homelands of others, Ashburn in effect is robbing hundreds of his constituents of their heritage and the opportunity to pull themselves up out of poverty and perpetuates the bad stereotypes about Native American gambling interests.
Ashburn shows disregard for the ancestral heritage of Native Americans who have true roots in the greater Barstow area. Native Americans demonstrate little need for material possessions but have a spiritual connection to their homelands that’s not truly understood by most of European heritage.
Senator Roy Ashburn’s 18th District is expansive taking in Inyo, Kern, Tulare and San Bernardino Counties and stretches from Bakersfield and the Tehachapi Mountains in the west to the Colorado River in the east anchored in the Bakersfield area where there is the greatest concentration of voters.
There are seven Indian reservations located within the 18th District and two others with portions of their reservation lands spilling into the 18th. The 30,653-acre Chemehuevi Indian Reservation is the second largest in the 18th District. It’s located in the far southeastern corner of the 18th District, 268 miles across the Mohave Desert from Bakersfield. Nearly all of the Lake Havasu’s California shoreline is on the Chemehuevi Reservation.
tVT notes the Chemehuevi Reservation and the Barstow community are represented by the same San Bernardino County Supervisor, member of the Assembly and state Senator.
Ashburn is co-author of legislation, S.B. 157, that would allow a powerful Detroit-based casino syndicate to transplant two tribes and their casinos clear across state to Barstow, 700 miles away onto the ancestral lands of local tribes. S.B. 157, do-over legislation that was rejected by an Assembly committee in 2006, is backed by labor and environmental leaders. Regional and state law enforcement leaders joined other Indian tribes in rejecting the move last year.
The greater Barstow area is recognized as being within the ancestral homelands of the San Manuel and Chemehuevi Indian Tribes despite half-truths and misstated facts used by the Detroit Casino Syndicate to attack the local tribes’ ancestry.
Ashburn demonstrates little regard for the struggle and needs of more than 1,000 constituents enrolled as members of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe located in the south east corner of his sprawling 18th Senate District and hundreds of other Native Americans who consider the Mohave Desert their ancestral homelands.
Perhaps it’s simply a case of “out of sight, out of mind” and not an intentional act to withhold opportunities from his own constituents. The Chemehuevi Reservation is located 268 miles across the Mohave Desert from Ashburn’s Bakersfield home.
The City of Barstow first approached the Chemehuevi Tribe about business partnerships in the mid-1990s. The tribe had been consulted by the City on various archaeological matters in Barstow and leaders at the City, like local historians, recognized the ties the tribe’s ancestor had with the Greater Barstow area.
The Barstow City Council awarded a municipal agreement to the Chemehuevi Tribe during the Fall of 2005, nine months before the City awarded valid agreements to the Big Lagoon and Los Coyotes partnership. However, since 2003, it has been reported that the Detroit Casino Syndicate has pulled out all the stops to block any other proposals from moving forward in Barstow.
It should be noted the median household income among Ashburn’s constituents at the Chemehuevi Indian Reservation is less than $20,000 per year which must be spread among three individuals per household. Roughly a third of the Chemehuevi population lives below poverty levels.
Mike and Marian Ilitch share a spot with Oprah Winfrey on Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans -- their net worth estimated to be at least $1.5 billion; their seven children and their families share in the Ilitch Family fortunes. They gave away almost $900,000 in individual political contributions during the last four or five years.
The extended Moorehead family that makes up the Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribe gets $55,000 per capita annually for each adult member (20) just from the larger tribes' revenue sharing trust fund program. Moorehead's family owns a small hotel and other buinsess in the general area. The California Department of Finance indicates the state’s median household income is $46,900; that’s before taxes. Big Lagoon’s at $75,000-$100,000 per household just from the trust funds alone and that’s not subject to taxes nor does it consider the tribe's other business ventures.
Senator Ashburn makes at least $110,000 each year on his legislative salary alone plus expenses of $138 per day for each day the legislature is in session. He’s benefited when the people like those behind the Detroit Casino Syndicate have generously contributed to his campaign funds.
Why not afford your constituents a break Senator Ashburn? The Moorehead Family (that's who makes up the Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribe) at home on the "pristine" Big Lagoon in Trinidad, a short walk from the Pacific Ocean, appears be doing just fine and the Ilitch Family, ranked #242 on Forbes list of "Richest Americans," has got airplanes, a baseball team, Stanley cups and second homes and plenty needed to take care of generations to come.
The Verifiable Truth (tVT) like nearly everyone else we’ve heard from is extremely disappointed in Senator Ashburn’s decision to support the compacts rejected last year in the Assembly. It is going to continue a program of block and delay. By doing so, Senator Ashburn perpetuates the exclusivities awarded the Detroit Casino Syndicate for five years that have already cost Barstow and other High Desert Communities dearly.
More troubling is the lack of respect Ashburn has shown for the hard working Indian tribes whose ancestors have struggled to make their homes in the High Desert for centuries. By approving plans to transplant tribes’ casinos clear across state to Barstow on lands that traditionally are recognized as the ancestral homelands of others, Ashburn in effect is robbing hundreds of his constituents of their heritage and the opportunity to pull themselves up out of poverty and perpetuates the bad stereotypes about Native American gambling interests.
Ashburn shows disregard for the ancestral heritage of Native Americans who have true roots in the greater Barstow area. Native Americans demonstrate little need for material possessions but have a spiritual connection to their homelands that’s not truly understood by most of European heritage.
Senator Roy Ashburn’s 18th District is expansive taking in Inyo, Kern, Tulare and San Bernardino Counties and stretches from Bakersfield and the Tehachapi Mountains in the west to the Colorado River in the east anchored in the Bakersfield area where there is the greatest concentration of voters.
There are seven Indian reservations located within the 18th District and two others with portions of their reservation lands spilling into the 18th. The 30,653-acre Chemehuevi Indian Reservation is the second largest in the 18th District. It’s located in the far southeastern corner of the 18th District, 268 miles across the Mohave Desert from Bakersfield. Nearly all of the Lake Havasu’s California shoreline is on the Chemehuevi Reservation.
tVT notes the Chemehuevi Reservation and the Barstow community are represented by the same San Bernardino County Supervisor, member of the Assembly and state Senator.
Ashburn is co-author of legislation, S.B. 157, that would allow a powerful Detroit-based casino syndicate to transplant two tribes and their casinos clear across state to Barstow, 700 miles away onto the ancestral lands of local tribes. S.B. 157, do-over legislation that was rejected by an Assembly committee in 2006, is backed by labor and environmental leaders. Regional and state law enforcement leaders joined other Indian tribes in rejecting the move last year.
The greater Barstow area is recognized as being within the ancestral homelands of the San Manuel and Chemehuevi Indian Tribes despite half-truths and misstated facts used by the Detroit Casino Syndicate to attack the local tribes’ ancestry.
Friday, February 02, 2007
California Tribal Casinos: FAQs - a primer published 2/01/07 by the non-partisan office of CA Legislative Analyst Elizabeth G. Hill
The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) is a nonpartisan office which provides fiscal and policy information and advice to the California Legislature.
California Tribal Casinos: Questions and Answers
February 1, 2007
Full Report: HTML PDF
In 1987, a U.S. Supreme Court decision involving two California tribes set in motion a series of federal and state actions that dramatically expanded tribal casinos here and in other states. Now, California's casino industry outranks all but Nevada's in size. In this report, we answer key questions, including: How much do tribes pay to California governments? Are the administration's near-term revenue estimates related to five proposed compacts with Southern California tribes realistic? What powers does the state have to ensure that tribes meet their obligations under the compacts?
February 1, 2007
Full Report: HTML PDF
In 1987, a U.S. Supreme Court decision involving two California tribes set in motion a series of federal and state actions that dramatically expanded tribal casinos here and in other states. Now, California's casino industry outranks all but Nevada's in size. In this report, we answer key questions, including: How much do tribes pay to California governments? Are the administration's near-term revenue estimates related to five proposed compacts with Southern California tribes realistic? What powers does the state have to ensure that tribes meet their obligations under the compacts?
Thanks to John Myers @ KQED Capitol Notes for bringing this to our attention.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Tribe's doing what its Los Coyotes Neighbors describe as impossible
The Santa Ysabel Tribe is located in northeastern San Diego County just 10 miles from the Los Coyotes Reservation but the leaders of the two tribe are attacking their futures from opposite corners of the ring.
Seasoned journalist Chet Barfield regularly reports on San Diego's 18 Indian tribes for the San Diego Union Tribune covering Indian Country and Indian gaming in the County with the highest concentration of Indian casinos in the United States. Several years ago he wrote several stories on the hostilities that existed between waring factions on the Los Coyotes Reservation. A year ago he wrote:
You may also want to review these posts:
The Verifiable Truth: NEWS Contradicts Ilitch, Los Coyotes say about prospects of northeastern San Diego County casino development
The Verifiable Truth: Google Earth Maps make it clear why Detroit Casino Syndicators won't settle for anything other than their Barstow location
Seasoned journalist Chet Barfield regularly reports on San Diego's 18 Indian tribes for the San Diego Union Tribune covering Indian Country and Indian gaming in the County with the highest concentration of Indian casinos in the United States. Several years ago he wrote several stories on the hostilities that existed between waring factions on the Los Coyotes Reservation. A year ago he wrote:
Based on this story, one has to wonder if Governor Schwarzenegger, Dan Kolkey, Marian Ilitch, Michael Malik, Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale, and legislators like Roy Ashburn and Bill Maze have ever been to northeastern San Diego County. More startling is that the Governor's staff didn't appear to be verifying anything they were told by Marian Ilitch's team pushing the proposal for dual casinos in Barstow, Calif. Everything we've heard to date is contradicted by this story of a Tribe that's turning lemons into lemonade.Far-flung members of North County tribe are returning, with their hearts on the reservation and their eyes off it
By Chet Barfield
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
..."We're headed in a new direction," tribal Chairman Johnny Hernandez said. "We want to make this a reservation our people are proud of and make the land itself proud of the people who are on it."
Pride has long been scarce on this 15,500-acre reservation 65 miles northeast of San Diego. Its forested mountains abound with beauty, but its people are among the poorest and most oppressed in the region.
Over generations, families fled the reservation, mostly for economic survival. Today more than two-thirds of the tribe's 770 members are scattered throughout California and other states.But lately, more and more are coming to tribal meetings, from Orange County, Los Angeles or farther. Some are even moving back to the reservation, as Ponchetti did in 1984 and Hernandez did in 2000.
What's bringing them back? The push for a casino? Opportunities for free land? Family connections? A voice in tribal decisions?
According to dozens of members, all those factors play a part and fuel frictions between old and new thinking, between factions on and off the reservation.
For many, however, the pull comes from something deeper."A lot of them wanted to come back to their roots to find out who the hell they were," said Ponchetti, 67, whose father was a prominent tribal leader in the 1950s. "They were Indian, but they didn't know what that meant." ... (Full
Story)
You may also want to review these posts:
The Verifiable Truth: NEWS Contradicts Ilitch, Los Coyotes say about prospects of northeastern San Diego County casino development
The Verifiable Truth: Google Earth Maps make it clear why Detroit Casino Syndicators won't settle for anything other than their Barstow location
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Big Lagoon Chairman, Marian Ilitch up to old tricks; but threats and dishonesty haven't made progess in the past.
Blah ... Blah ... Blah ...
Big Lagoon RancheriaJanuary 8, 2007For Immediate Release!Contact: Virgil Moorehead(707) 826‐2079
BIG LAGOON ACQUIRES 16 ADDITIONAL ACRES IN HUMBOLDT CO., NEW PARCEL IS ADJACENT TO TRIBAL RANCHERIA EUREKA – Big Lagoon Rancheria announced Monday the purchase of 16 additional acres along the majestic North Coast of California, adjacent to the tribe’s 20‐acre ancestral lands of Big Lagoon in Humboldt County.
According to Virgil Moorehead, Big Lagoon Tribal spokesman, the Tribe is considering various uses for the property, including the restoration of the original village where the Tribe istorically settled. The Tribe will consider filing a land into trust application with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In September 2005, the Big Lagoon Rancheria signed a compact with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that allows the Tribe to build a casino in the City of Barstow (San Bernardino County) in partnership with the Los Coyotes Band. As part of the compact, the Big Lagoon Rancheria also signed a settlement agreement with the State of California that calls on the Tribe to forgo gaming development on the Tribe’s Ancestral land along the scenic Northern California coastline, in exchange for a gaming project in Barstow.
The Tribe narrowly lost its bid for the Barstow project in the California legislature during the 2006 legislative session. It plans to support the re‐introduction of enabling legislation this year to ratify its compact.
Under the terms of the compact, the California lawmakers must ratify the compact with legislation in 2007 or the settlement agreement with the state would be invalidated, forcing a court mandated settlement.
# # #
With this press release, Virgil Moorehead's proven once again that he'll say anything or do anything. Threats and dishonesty are hardly the way to re-open negotiations with a California Legislature you failed to develop credibility with in the last legislative session.
Moorehead's claims that his Tribe "narrowly" lost its bid to have a Barstow casino approved during the 2006 CA Legislative Session is outright dishonesty. By writing it in the press release and distributing it to reporters, he's hoping that they won't know any better and they'll reprint his Spin as the California Legislature reconvenes.
The truth is Moorhead, his partners at the Los Coyotes Reservation in San Diego, the Detroit casino syndicators driving Moorehead and three Sacramento lobbying firms who were paid at least $350,000 - $500,000 last year failed miserably and were only able to get public commitments on the record from 6 members out of the combined 120 legislators who make up the Senate and Assembly.
Yes, a year and a half after Governor Schwarzenegger signed the agreements, Marian Ilitch's team and Moorehead were only able to round up six votes on the record. Four of those were onboard when the legislation was introduced last year, only two members joined the bandwagon after the agreements started to get a public airing.
The most passionate and committed champion of Big Lagoon's plan, Senator Wes Chesbro (his district included Humboldt County), was termed out of the legislature in the Fall. Moorehead and Marian Ilitch's pack of lobbyists haven't indicated who, if anyone would shepherd their plan through the legislature now and they've had four months to figure it out. That's not a good sign. This is exactly where they were a year ago ... a signed compact sitting in limbo with no sponsors in the legislature and no legislators committed to moving it through committee.
Of the five committed members remaining in the legislature, it's unclear if they're still on board with Moorehead; although 4 of the 5 represent districts serving Barstow, Los Coyotes Reservation or Big Lagoon Rancheria as one might expect. The five who publicly committed their votes last year include:
1. Senator Roy Ashburn (R-18)
2. Assemblyman Bill Maze (R-34)
3. Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-1)
4. Assemblyman Jay La Suer (R-77)
5. Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-12)
You may also want to review these posts:
The Verifiable Truth: Big Lagoon Rancheria purchases 16 acres
The Verifiable Truth: Big Lagoon Rancheria trust plan under fire
The Verifiable Truth: In a move right out of the Ilitch Bay Mills playbook, CA's Big Lagoon acquires 16 acres, increases leverage
The Verifiable Truth: Ilitch’s Barstow schemes failed to make any substantive progress in Sacramento since 2005; aging agreements with Gov. Schwarzenegger expire soon
The Verifiable Truth:Overview of Ilitch CA Lobbying Expenses
Big Lagoon Rancheria purchases 16 acres? So they say ... Really? or just another veiled threat, attempt create leverage for negotiating advantage
Big Lagoon Rancheria purchases 16 acres
Article Launched: 01/09/2007 04:15:31 AM PST
BIG LAGOON -- The Rancheria's property holdings have nearly doubled following the purchase of 16 acres adjacent to the tribe's ancestral lands.
Article Launched: 01/09/2007 04:15:31 AM PST
BIG LAGOON -- The Rancheria's property holdings have nearly doubled following the purchase of 16 acres adjacent to the tribe's ancestral lands.
Rancheria Tribal Spokesman Virgil Moorehead announced the purchase Monday and said the Tribal Council is considering a number of possible uses for the property, including restoration of the original village site.
The Rancheria is also considering filing an application with the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs to bring the newly acquired land into trust status.
At this point, according to the Rancheria's announcement, the hope is that the state Legislature will ratify a gaming compact signed with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2005 allowing Big Lagoon Rancheria to build a casino in Barstow. The gaming compact was not ratified in the last state legislative session, but the Rancheria stated its intent to support legislation this year to ratify the compact.
As part of the compact, the Big Lagoon Rancheria signed a settlement agreement with the state in which they would not build a casino on their Northern California property in exchange for the Barstow casino project.
You may also want to review these posts:
The Verifiable Truth: Big Lagoon Chairman, Marian Ilitch up to old tricks; but threats and dishonesty haven't made progess in the past.
The Verifiable Truth: Big Lagoon Rancheria trust plan under fire
The Verifiable Truth: In a move right out of the Ilitch Bay Mills playbook, CA's Big Lagoon acquires 16 acres, increases leverage
In a move right out of the Ilitch Bay Mills playbook, CA's Big Lagoon acquires 16 acres, increases leverage
01.09.07Big Lagoon acquires 16 acres
Big Lagoon Rancheria announced Monday in a news release the purchase of 16 additional acres along the North Coast of California, adjacent to the tribe’s 20-acre ancestral lands of Big Lagoon in Humboldt County.
Virgil Moorehead, Big Lagoon Tribal spokesman, stated in the release that the tribe is considering various uses for the property, including the restoration of the original village where the tribe historically settled.
The tribe will consider filing a land-into-trust application with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In September 2005, the Big Lagoon Rancheria signed a compact with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that allows the tribe to build a casino in the city of Barstow (San Bernardino County) in partnership with the Los Coyotes Band. As part of the compact, the Big Lagoon Rancheria also signed a settlement agreement with the state of California that calls on the tribe to forgo gaming development on the tribe’s ancestral land along the scenic Northern California coastline in exchange for a gaming project in Barstow.
The tribe narrowly ["narrowly" is a false representation made in Moorehead's press release since the Tribe only secured six votes total out of a combined membership of 120 total legislators in both houses] lost its bid for the Barstow project in the California Legislature during the 2006 legislative session. It plans to support the re-introduction of enabling legislation this year to ratify its compact.
Under the terms of the compact, California lawmakers must ratify the compact with legislation in 2007 or the settlement agreement with the state would be invalidated, forcing a court-mandated settlement.
You may also want to review these posts:
The Verifiable Truth: Big Lagoon Rancheria purchases 16 acres
The Verifiable Truth: Big Lagoon Rancheria trust plan under fire
The Verifiable Truth: Big Lagoon Chairman, Marian Ilitch up to old tricks; but threats and dishonesty haven't made progess in the past.
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