California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has written to the federal government to voice opposition to two tribal casino projects in the heart of the state’s wine country, which he claims “stretch the ‘restored lands’ exception beyond its legal limits.”
In a letter to US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland this week, Newsom argued that the casinos, proposed by the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians for Solano County and the Koi Nation for Sonoma County, are “proceeding in a manner that would sidestep the State [and] ignore the concerns of tribal governments and other local communities.”
The Scotts Valley Band has been seeking approval for its proposed $700 million casino resort near Vallejo since 2016. Meanwhile, the Koi Nation announced its plans for a $600 million project near Windsor in September 2021.
Controversial Projects
Both have applied to the DOI to have the land earmarked for the casinos taken into trust. This is the process by which the federal government partially removes land from the jurisdiction of the state and converts it to sovereign land, a prerequisite for tribal gaming.
Ultimately, while the Interior Department may consider Newsom’s stance on the applications, the governor will have no final say in the decision.
Both projects are controversial because they are opposed by some local residents, as well as by other tribes in the region. Casino opponents have accused the tribes of “reservation shopping,” suggesting they have sought land far from their original reservations to maximize future casino profits.
Some Native Americans find the term offensive and believe it fundamentally misunderstands the nature of tribal reservations.
Ultimately, the DOI must decide whether the tribes can claim ancestral ties to the land. Both argue they have historical ties, but other tribes in the region have countered these assertions.
The Koi Nation’s links to the land have been disputed by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which owns and operates the Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, about 11 air miles from the proposed site.
‘Land Appropriation’
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Cache Creek Casino operator the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and local government officials held a press conference in West Sacramento calling for the DOI to reject the Scotts Valley casino project.
The accompanying news release describes the Scotts Valley land as “Patwin ancestral territory.” Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation tribal chief Anthony Roberts has previously said the “Scotts Valley proposal to appropriate Patwin lands” as one that “cannot withstand even minimal scrutiny.”
Neither the Koi Nation nor the Scotts Valley Band already owns a casino.
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