Thursday, January 24, 2013
Twentynine Palms Band Looking to Build Casino on Tribal Land
The Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians, after looking at land in Joshua Tree, has set its sights once again on building a casino on tribal land in Twentynine Palms.
That was the word from Twentynine Palms City Manager Richard Warne, who announced at the Tuesday, Jan. 22, City Council meeting that he contacted tribal officials to ask about activity on the reservation land at Baseline and Adobe Road.
Warne said he spoke to the tribe’s chief financial officer, who told him the tribe is making plans to build a 30,000-square-foot casino on the land.
Plans, he was told, will begin with construction of a tortoise fence around the property to prevent tortoises from moving into the area.
Tribal officials, he noted, are planning to release an environmental impact statement for the proposed casino on Monday, Jan. 28, and are planning a public meeting about the project in February.
Originally proposed in late 2007, the project had at one time called for a 60,000-square-foot casino with 350 slot machines along with table games, a bingo hall, two restaurants and a sports bar.
The 160 acres of tribal land was also slated to host an RV park with space for more than 100 RVs, tent and cabin sites along with amenities including electrical, water, cable TV, telephone and sewer hookups, wireless Internet access, a 24-hour convenience store, swimming pools, showers and locker rooms, barbecue facilities, a dump site and laundry facilities.
The Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians operates Spotlight 29 Casino in Indio.
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10 comments:
The market is already too saturated...the casinos are fairly empty....Harrahs Rincon is building another hotel tower, a convention center and a lazy river pool....they must want to stay deeper and deeper in debt...I read on this site that Pechanga is a billion in debt....these tribes should look at history and Foxwood...once a huge money machine that is now bankrupt....Pechanga next?....I hope!...Karma!
Why do you want the Pechanga Casino to fail? Why do you want the Pechanga Indian Reservation to fail? Don't you remember life before the Casino? Why not hope for tribal nations to succeed and grow developmentally and economically in order to strengthen tribal community and tribal sovereignty?
because pechanga dont give a shit about the btrue indians just wetbacks in the tribe!
I may have to say that both sides should sit down together and decide whether they will continue to build new Casino tower. Well, if they decided to expand their Casino business, they should also provide handouts or available sites where people can read some tips on how to learn poker.
In answer to;
Anonymous of February 6, 2013 at 4:01 PM
Is it about the tribe or is it about the casino? I remember when I went to my first tribal council in the 80s I must have been in my early 20s. My grandfather William Salinas and my mother sat in the back of the main room of the tribal hall. I remember there was a heated debate and I am not sure if it was a Masiel, but I think it was who was arguing about sovereignty and how tribes were losing to much.
Well at that time, I was introduced to family that lived on the reservation, and we were welcomed with open arms as newly enrolled members. That is my family, for my grandfather had been a member already. The thing is we met the criteria for membership by being able to prove lineal decent from a Temecula Indian. In fact for those who do not know I am a decedent of Pablo Aps. Also for those who do not know the Pechanga Casino sits on the land owned by Pablo Aps.
Without getting into the details of why we were disenrolled I will say this, the person who lead the opposition to disenroll us was my grandfather’s first cousin, Francis Miranda. We were kicked out because we would not vote the way we were told to vote by Jenny Miranda. That is it plain and simple.
I ask you would we have been disenrolled if Pechanga did not have a casino. I have been to the tribe and it has not changed all that much even with all of the money the casino makes. I have seen that there is a high rate of unemployment and even higher rates of alcohol and substance abuse on the reservation. I wonder if that is because of per cap checks?
I believe the casino could benift the people of those tribes that have them, but it would take a responsible tribal government to lead the people of the tribe in a more civic mined way where the needs of the tribe are put before the individual desire for wealth and power that sudden wealth brings. It is sad that our ancestors’ suffered at the hands of invaders. Just to have their descendants striped of their heritage for a pocket full of gold.
I am a true Temecula Indian who’s family was moved to a place called Pechanga. Pechanga is a place not a people, but history has been rewritten to cement the new leaders of the Temecula Indians who call themselves Pechanga Indians. What is being presented as fact is nothing more than lies that were paid for with the loss of heritage and identity from those who now have no history to pass down to their own descendants. It is very possible there will be more disenrollment’s of true members, or disenrollment’s of people who challenge the powers that be. We see it happening all across this nation.
You choose what is best for the tribe?
Is the Casino separate from the tribe? I know some tribal governments separate the two, and create committees that separate the tribal politics from the tribal business, but these same tribal governments also have tribal courts and incorporate jurisdictions when problems arise that separate the business side from the tribal side, in order to prevent power from overtaking either.
There is nothing separate about a tribe and their casino. They may have a separate cooperate entity that runs the business aspects of the casino, but nothing happens in or at the casino that is not approved by the tribal council. There are no checks or balance there because they are not bound by traditional cooperate law, for they are sovereign.
What I mean is that the business corporation is bound by the tribal court and tribal constitution, which is then governed by the customs and traditions of the tribe. Everything is run by these separate committees, and power is still residing with the people, but dispute resolution involves the tribal court which is also governed by the traditions and customs, no outside corporate law or any other external court is allowed to have jurisdiction.
From the looks of it, this may become the favorite past time of the people in that place. They might as well get poker tips before starting on with poker games.
Been hearing a lot of beaches which has a casino nearby, I don't know, but I found it kinda awkward to have those two in both places. I mean, people go in a beach to swim and enjoy the view not to gamble, right?
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