Opponents of a Madera County Indian casino have lost with the Legislature but are hoping they can win with California voters.
Cheryl Schmit, director of the gambling watchdog group Stand Up for California, filed a referendum with the Attorney General's Office today that seeks to reverse lawmakers' approval of a casino for the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians. The casino is more controversial than most in Indian country because it would be built along Highway 99, more than 35 miles from the mountainous village where tribal members live.
Opponents consider the project an "off reservation" casino, and say approval will set a precedent for similar developments around the state near freeways and urban communities. Supporters say the North Fork tribe historically migrated between the casino land on the Valley floor and the tribe's current home in the mountains near Yosemite, and that few other tribes have a similar situation.
Gov. Jerry Brown supports the project as an economic development opportunity for the impoverished tribe, and labor unions lobbied hard for it. Many other gambling tribes oppose the casino because it would create competition for their business.
Lawmakers narrowly ratified the North Fork compact last month and the governor signed it last week.
For Schmit's referendum overturning the compact to reach the 2014 ballot, her group must gather 504,760 voter signatures in 90 days.
I bet Chukchansi will get their people out trying to get signatures. IMAGINE if they had ALL their tribal members back in the tribe, what they could do? Now, their shrinking tribe has little manpower for an issue like this
14 comments:
This is a waste of time and money. Live and let live!
Now we shoud start a petition to stop tribes that have disenrolled from getting online gambling....
unfortunately, little manpower but much money--and money talks...in fact, i wouldn't be surprised if picayune was bankrolling the initiative, even though "stand up for california" and cheryl schmit were major players leading the charge to prevent picayune from developing it's own casino plans...
for those who don't (or don't want to) remember, the status of picayune's own land proposed for chukchansi gold was in question as "indian land", and many believed it was only approved by the nigc as such as a favor from the chair of nigc to harold monteau--monteau had been the first chair of the nigc, then left to start his own law firm
and promptly took on picayune rancheria as a client undoubtedly knowing they were in the process of developing plans for a casino...add to that the fact that the land on which chukchansi gold is built was not even taken into trust until 2007, FOUR YEARS AFTER THE CASINO WAS BUILT, and one would have to admit picayune, not unlike north fork, had it's own unorthodox approach to obtaining a gaming facility and it's own "friends" in high places (aka government positions) to help it along, no matter how unorthodox...
I was not aware that the land that Chukchansi Gold was built on was put into trust 4 years after the Casino was built. How did they build the Casino without it being in trust? Also, I would bet that Chukchansi is funding or contributing funds to Cheryl Schmidt to try and stop N.F from building the Casino in Madera. Sounds like they are being hypocritical.
it was trust land to begin with
i beg your pardon, excuse me, but NO, IT WASN'T TRUST LAND TO BEGIN WITH--the only trust land included was the corner of a parking lot...
and that's exactly the reason that the land was taxable, and being sued by the county of madera...picayune was tied up for YEARS in court with madera county due to the tax status, as picayune was not paying the required taxes on the fee land where chukchansi gold stands...this is also exactly why picayune is currently "gifting" organizations in madera county to the tune of $1 million in grant money each year, as that was part of the final agreement in federal court for madera county to no longer go after the back taxes...
the land on which chukchansi gold sits was only taken into trust in 2007, AFTER the tax fiasco was settled with madera county--FOUR YEARS AFTER THE CASINO WAS BUILT AND OPERATING...
so, picayune set it's own "precedent" in the world of indian gaming...north fork IS NOT the only one "not playing by the rules"...
please see this court filing in a more recent federal court case against picayune, that once again verifies that the casino land WAS NOT in trust prior to 2007, that of "breakthrough management group inc. vs chukchansi gold resort and casino, chukchansi economic development authority, and ryan stanley,":
BMG asks the Court to take judicial notice that the Resort and the Authority were notlocated on “Indian Lands” because the land was not held in trust by the US. In Picayune Rancheria 0f Chukchansi Indians v. County of Madera, et al., No. 06-CV-07l3 .IF PVT,United States District Court for the Northern District of California, a settlement agreement was entered (docket entry 71 in that case). Section 2.5 of that settlement agreement acknowledges that the land where the Resort is located was not taken into trustby the United States Government as of March 2007. In a settlement agreement in thecase of Madera County Bd. of Supervisors, et al v. United States Dep ’t of Interior, et al.,No. Civ. 08-04-2139 LKK, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, a Settlement and Dismissal of Claims was entered into by the United States on August 1, 2005 wherein the United States agreed to refrain from taking the Resort Property into trust until the afore mentioned Northern District case was resolved. BMG requested judicial notice of this fact with the district court. (DE 44)
so, anonymous, just WHO doesn't know their history?
Yea!!! Tell them the facts for ALL Nations...for ALL Chukchansi people. I have to say you know your history.
If you look deep into Cheryl Schmitt and all her dealings with Indian Tribes in the past, you will be very concerned and interested in how she earns all her $$$. She is being paid to travel all over the country, by who? She's certainly not using her own $$. As for all the tribes that are trying to stop other tribes from getting casinos, shame on them. Thanks for exposing this tribe and how they got their casino. SHAME,SHAME,ON THEM !!!! competition is what they are afraid of.
I agree with the post before mine regarding Cheryl Schmit. She's dirty, bankrolling off of intimidated Tribes to fight other Tribes, just playing us for fools. She claims to "Stand Up For America" but the fact is that she makes her money fighting "The First Americans".Schmit needs to sit the hell down!!!
I agree with the above comments, Cheryl S. is like hair in your mouth, nasty and something to spit out. She really needs to be shut down. Stand Up California, my butt!! It's more like Schmitt getting rich off Indian vs Indian. The tribes with casinos are being traitors to their own people all because of greed. Karma can be a BI_ch.
Cheryl Schmit is laughing all the way to the bank.
have you actually listened to Cheryl S. She doesn't know how to tell the truth. She is being paid to tell one side and it is a shame that she is getting away with her dirt work. Yes she is getting paid by a couple of big tribes trying to stop these poor tribes from starting casinos. It's all about competition. As long as these tribes pay her directly or indirectly she is going to try and stop or delay North Fork. This is so unfair.
Post a Comment