The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians Tribe has long stood opposed to the illegal, off-reservation North Fork casino, proposed for 99 more than 35 miles from the Mono Tribe's land. This off-reservation casino absolutely flies in the face of the will of California's voters and their "yes" vote on Proposition 1A in 2000.
Just as importantly from our perspective, the illegal North Fork casino will decimate our 10-year, $350 million investment in the Chukchansi Gold Casino – Madera County's largest employer, supporting more than 1,100 jobs and annually pumping millions of dollars into the county economy.
Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler ignored these critical points in his comments in "Funds pour in to put North Fork casino on the ballot" in the Sept. 24 edition of the Star. Supervisor Wheeler touts the proposed Mono casino as an economic benefit without acknowledging that most of the dollars North Fork would earn and the jobs that illegal casino might create will come at the expense of our tribe, our casino and the more than 1,000 Madera County families who rely on Chukchansi Gold for a paycheck.
Supervisor Wheeler rails against what he calls "an intrusion of our local economic development and land use planning authority."
We'll make the obvious point: What about the economic development opportunities our tribe will lose if this casino is built?
MY RESPONSE:
This faction of the Chukchansie Tribal Councils asks the QUESTION: What about the economic development opportunities our tribe will lose if this casino is built? ANSWER: WHAT ABOUT IT? Your tribe was given those opportunities when you promised to help your tribal members. Instead, you embarrass Indian Country by your harmful actions of terminating 60% of your tribe. We write about that at ( http://
While in Washington DC last week, we were able to tell the Director of the House Subcommittee On Indian and Alaskan Native Affair what harm you have done. While reservation shopping is NOT ideal, in THIS case, to provide competition that may have the ADDED benefit of putting YOUR TRIBE out of business...is a GOOD THING. People should STAY AWAY from YOUR business entity based on this simple premise:
IF YOU WILL CHEAT and HARM YOUR OWN PEOPLE, won't you do the same to your customers?
4 comments:
Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians has violated EVERY tenet of what Indian gaming in California was supposed to provide, and lied to California voters, Coarsegold/Oakhurst area residents, and, most important, their own People. When Picayune proposed the development of Chukchansi Gold, it was pitched to the Coarsegold people by Joyce Burel in a public meeting to be developed to provide PROGRAMS TO ALL INDIAN PEOPLE, NOT PER CAPITA CHECKS TO THE FEW CHUKCHANSI PEOPLE WHO REMAINED FOLLOWING DISMEMBERMENT OF OVER A THOUSAND TRIBAL CITIZENS. This same promise was made to our own People. Today, even fewer programs exist at Picayune, and those that do have been placed in danger and remain unfunded due to the fiasco of the three tribal factions who all claim to be "the rightful tribal council". Therefore, Proposition 1A, which was approved by voters to provide assistance and self-sufficiency to ALL Indian people through it's implementation has become the vehicle by which THOUSANDS of Indian People in California have been dismembered with their tribal, civil, and human rights violated and their very birthrights as Indian People stolen from them by corrupt tribal governments such as that of Picayune. I say, Picayune and other corrupt tribal governments have no right to interfere with the economic proposals of other tribes. Additionally, in proclaiming that they have "done things right", and "followed the letter of the law" they are downright liars, as well as thieves. What a disgrace to authentic Indian nations has the name of my Chukchansi People become. Creator and our Chukchansi ancestors watch their disrespectful behavior and weep at what our People have become...
@ 9:13 AM, Your comment is so true. It is sad to see Tribal leaders go against their own people and then after they disenroll, they go even further trying to destroy all the disenrollees heritage and way of life. They try to degrade them by spreading false rumors about the families they dienrolled and then they do things like put curses on them, tell them they cannot do certain things on tribal land, and go to Washington DC to try to take away water rights, and allotted lands from original families. It is down right sickening. The worst part about it is those members who still retain membership won't do anything about it if it has not effected them in anyway. They do not understand until it is knocking on their door. What happened to the Sacred Circle? The part that we are all intertwined with the Earth and all of it beings? That we are suppose to be brothers? Why is it with them that they had the right to do it and it has nothing to do with greed, but when the disenrollees complain, they say it is all about the money for them. How Ironic that all of a sudden in the past 10 years these tribes who have existed for 100s of years, have leaders that decide to disenroll someone from 100 years ago and say they never really belonged, and how Ironic it is that these are all Casino Tribes, wow what a coincidence. Not!!!
Thank God that that Christ does not judge all Chukchansi people the same. Christ loves the Chukchansi people and has mercy for us during this time. The wrong doings of a few will not interfere with his love for us. All Nations seems to find it easy to lump ALL Chuks into one big ball of losers. Christ will help us prevail and we will move forward. Why do you even want to be part of a tribe that you see as ALL bad?
i'm talking about the corrupt TRIBAL GOVERNMENT nickey--NOT "all chukchansi"..i AM chukchansi (i don't "want to be part of a tribe" that i "see as all bad"), and have very much respect for, not only our ancestors, but for those who are suffering and attempting to move forward in a positive way...
i LOVE my chukchansi people, but i will not hide my head in the sand and be silent about the truth when it needs to be told, nor deny my relations for my own desire for political power or greed...
assumptions are dangerous, AND divisive...
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