Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk Issues Four Decisions on Tribal Gaming Applications

Washington, D.C. – Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today issued decisions on four tribal gaming applications in California and New Mexico, determining that two of the proposed gaming sites meet the legal and regulatory requirements and two do not.

Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk determined that a proposed gaming facility in Yuba County, California would be in the best interest of the Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians, and would not be detrimental to the surrounding community. He made a similar determination for the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians for a proposed gaming facility in Madera County, California.

“Our responsibility under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is clear: we must review each application on a case by case basis and determine whether it meets the standards outlined in law and regulation,” said Echo Hawk. “Following a careful and thorough review of the applications from the Enterprise Rancheria and the North Fork Rancheria tribes, I have determined that both tribes’ applications meet the strong standards under the law. Both tribes have historical connections to the proposed gaming sites, and both proposals have strong support from the local community, which are important factors in our review."

The Assistant Secretary also issued two negative decisions on other tribal gaming applications: one for the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians in California, and the other for the Pueblo of Jemez, in New Mexico.

The Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians had sought to develop a gaming facility in Richmond California, more than 100 miles from its existing tribal lands in Mendocino County. The Pueblo of Jemez is located northwest of Albuquerque, and was seeking to develop a class III gaming facility nearly 300 miles away in Doña Ana County, near the New Mexico-Texas border.

“We have closely reviewed the proposals from the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians and the Pueblo of Jemez and have determined that they do not meet the requirements under the law necessary for approval,” said Echo Hawk. “The Guidiville Band’s application did not satisfy many of the requirements to develop a gaming facility at that particular site. With the Pueblo of Jemez, we had significant concerns about the Tribe’s ability to effectively exercise jurisdiction over a parcel nearly 300 miles from its existing reservation.”

The Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians is headquartered in Butte County, 36 miles from the proposed 40-acre gaming site. The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians is headquartered in Madera County, California, 36 miles from the proposed 305-acre gaming site. Both tribes submitted applications under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s “Secretarial Determination” exception, which allows tribes to conduct gaming on lands outside of their existing reservation where the Department determines that it would be in the best interest of the tribe and its

members, and not detrimental to the surrounding community.

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Governor of the State of California has one year to concur in the Assistant Secretary’s determinations on the Enterprise Rancheria and the North Fork Rancheria, before the parcels can be acquired in trust for each tribe to conduct gaming. If the Governor does not concur in the Assistant Secretary’s determination for each tribe, respectively, then that tribe may not conduct gaming on the proposed site.

The Guidiville Band sought to develop its facility under what is known as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s “equal footing exception.” IGRA prohibits Indian gaming on lands acquired in trust after its enactment in 1988, unless one of three explicitly crafted exceptions applies. The “equal footing exception,” was intended to ensure that a number of tribes had an equal opportunity to pursue Indian gaming on their own lands as those tribes that had lands eligible for gaming in 1988.

Under one sub-category of this exception, a tribe must demonstrate both modern and significant historical connections to the proposed gaming site. The Guidiville Band failed to demonstrate that it had either a modern connection or a significant historical connection to the proposed gaming site in Richmond, California.

The Pueblo of Jemez was also seeking to develop its gaming facility under the Secretarial Determination exception. The Department did not issue a determination on whether the proposed gaming facility would be in the best interest of the Tribe, and not detrimental to the surrounding community. Instead, the Department notified the Tribe that it would not acquire the land in trust because of concerns about the Tribe’s ability to effectively exercise jurisdiction on the proposed gaming site.

For more information concerning each of these decisions please click on the following links:

Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians

North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians

Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians

Pueblo of Jemez

FACT SHEET: ENTERPRISE RANCHERIA POSITIVE SECRETARIAL DETERMINATION

Decision

The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs has reviewed the Enterprise Rancheria’s off-reservation gaming application under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and determined that:

o Gaming on the proposed site would be in the best interest of the Tribe and its members; and,

o Gaming on the proposed site would not be detrimental to the surrounding community.

The application now goes to the Governor of the State of California for concurrence in this determination. The Governor has one year to concur. Upon concurrence, the Tribe will be able to conduct gaming on the lands when they are acquired in trust. Background

The Tribe is located in Butte County, California (north of Sacramento), and has approximately 800 members. It currently has only 40 acres of land in trust, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills 21 miles east of the town of Oroville, CA. Those lands have been in trust since 1915 and are currently used for residential purposes. The Tribe also had an additional 40 acres of land in trust that were flooded for construction of a dam in the 1960’s.

The Tribe is proposing to operate a gaming facility on 40 acres of land in Yuba County, California – 36 miles south of the Tribe’s headquarters in Oroville, and 54 miles from its existing trust lands (driving distance). The proposed gaming site is approximately 40 miles north of Sacramento, CA.

The Tribe originally submitted its application in 2002. The proposed scope of the facility would include 1,700 machines, and an 8-story/170 room hotel.

Overview of Analysis – Best Interest Determination

The gaming facility would result in annual net revenues of $46.2 million by year 7, with $19.3 million in cash available to the Tribe’s government in year 7. Revenues would allow Tribe to provide jobs to its members, increase its service-delivery to tribal members, and allow the Tribe to develop a land-base. The gaming facility would only be 36 miles from its government headquarters, allowing the Tribe’s government to exercise governmental power over the gaming site.

The Tribe has a historical connection to the area around the Site, which has been recognized by the State of California and the Army Corps of Engineers (for purposes of repatriation of human remains and funerary objects).

Development of gaming at the proposed site is an appropriate alternative to gaming on existing trust lands, which are limited (40 acres), difficult to access (narrow, dirt roads), difficult to develop (steep, uneven terrain), and currently used for tribal member housing.

Overview of Analysis – Not Detrimental to the Surrounding Community

The Tribe has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Yuba County, which will require payments to the county to mitigate impact of gaming. Under this MOU, the County will receive $83 million over 20 years for various services.

The Tribe has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Marysville, which is the closest municipal government to the proposed gaming facility. Under this MOU, the City will receive $4.8 million over 15 years.

The gaming facility would be located in a 900-acre area zoned for “Sports and Entertainment.” The original purpose of the property was for the construction of a NASCAR track and outdoor amphitheatre.

The United Auburn Indian Community is also a “surrounding community” under IGRA, meaning that the Department must determine that the Enterprise Rancheria’s proposed gaming facility is not detrimental to the United Auburn Indian Community (Auburn).

Auburn operates its own gaming facility in Lincoln, California – approximately 21 miles southeast. Any claimed historical connection to the area around the site is not exclusive of other tribes, and does not lead to a detriment.

Auburn did not submit sufficient evidence showing that gaming on the site would be detrimental to its own community.