From: alra@governance.net Subject: Your Congressman’s Vote Really Counts – Call Today Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association Alliance Against Reservation Shopping PO Box 400, Battle Ground, WA 98604 (360) 687-3087 – Fax: (360) 687-2973 Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE - Washington, DC 20003 mike@hardimanconsulting.com -- 202-489-4893 Editors Note: This e-mail was sent to tens of thousands of constituents of Members of the Resources Committee. It will also go to 40,000 other people. If your Congressman is not on the Resources Committee, you should still call him or her to ask that staff attend the next Indian Affairs hearing in the Resources Committee. Any Congressman may be called at (202) 225-3121. Your voice, through your Representative, needs to be heard against the Tribal Casino Grandfather Clause and Reservation Shopping. Your Congressman’s Vote Really Counts – Call Today Your Congressman is on the Resources Committee listed below. You have the power with your calls and faxes to really make a difference. The Resources Committee will vote soon on Reservation Shopping Please call your Congressman today. Tell him to vote no on any Grandfather Clause. *****Action Items: -----1. Call your Congressman listed below today. Every Congressman can be called at (202) 225-3121. Your Representative’s private number is below. He or she is a member of the House Resources Committee. Your Congressman must hear from you and your friends that you oppose using an amendment to add a grandfather clause to the new Pombo bill, HR 4893. Many tribes are eagerly waiting line to set up new casinos all over the country. If a grandfather clause is added to HR 4893, it will open the flood gates. There will be new casinos on many street corners. There will be another hearing soon by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) and the Resources Committee. A large number of members of the Resources Committee have not been showing up for these hearings. Your Congressman must hear from you that you want him or her to attend any Indian Affairs hearings. You must insist that he or she oppose any grandfather clause or amendment. The next hearing will be next month. -----2. Don’t forget to call Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) to congratulate him on his bill (HR 4893) and urge him to fight back against any attempt to add a grandfather clause by an amendment. His bill, HR 4893, is available at www.landrights.org. HR 4893 gives local communities more power to say no. It would allow the legislature and the local community to vote on the issue of new off-reservation casinos in your community. It also would provide for other hoops for the tribes and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to go through. Here is some background on the Scotts Valley Indians and the Guidiville Indians and the spread of Reservation Shopping in the East San Francisco Bay area. You should read this carefully about the Scotts Valley and Guidiville Indians to see how reservation shopping can sneak up on you. These issues show the difference between reservations and rancheries which were little farms purchased from settlers for the Indians. Their jurisdiction was usually with the state, not the Federal Government. Now small groups of Indians are joining together to claim tribal status and claim that the rancheries were all a mistake and that they should have been a reservation. All of this so they can build huge casinos. There is that old saying that, “those that fail to remember history are bound to repeat it.” For many of the Indians and small l tribes in California, it is, “those tribes that don’t have the necessary history simply need to rewrite it to their convenience.” You will see by the following two summaries that by joining with large scale developers or speculators and their lawyers, even small groups of Indians can band together to claim tribal status. The current Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Indian Gaming Commission are so biased toward the tribes that they will almost approve any kind of connection as a tribe. It does not take long before a large scale casino proposal follows. Then these tribes seek to avoid a two part determination which would take into account possible damage to local communities and give the state some say in the process. The local people get left out. Local communities lose any opportunity to have a voice in their own future when it comes to tribal casinos. Scotts Valley In 1911, C.E. Kelsey, who had recommended that Congress establish the rancheria system, purchased 56 acres in Lake County for the Scotts Valley Indians. Rancherias were small plots of land set aside of individual Indians and small groups. The land, about 1 mile north of Lakeport on Clear Lake (about 120 miles north of San Francisco, well north of the wine country), was purchased from private parties and had for years been under the state’s jurisdiction. There was a big ranch house on the property. Unlike Lytton, this rancheria was immediately subdivided and assigned to 14 families. Title was not taken or held in trust. During operation, the rancheria was never treated as sovereign Indian land and documents do not evidence any tribal organization. When it was purchased, rancherias were not administered by the regional office, and Indians on the rancheria were not considered under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) because they had no tribal affiliation. Though this was changed for purposes of federal benefits in the 1930's (“New Deal” for Indians), issues of jurisdiction over rancheria land were never resolved. In 1935, the residents held a vote and apparently declined to organize under the IRA (Indian Reorganization Act of 1934). (Many Northern California Indians felt that the IRA was going to put them back on reservations and take away progress made.) Around 1955, the tribe requested that the Rancheria be distributed to them individually. The property was distributed to residents pursuant to the 1958 Rancheria Act, terminating benefits for the Indians. (It is not clear what benefits were terminated.) The Senate report recited that the tribe was not “formally organized.” In the Tillie-Hardwick cases, the government had conceded that it terminated benefits illegally, without fully performing its side of the bargain (by not providing adequate water and sewer services). About 1985, descendants of occupants of the rancheria sued for restoration of tribal recognition. They claimed that the prior land had been trust land under tribal jurisdiction. Neither claim has any historical basis, but the government conceded these points without any Section 83 review and in 1991, agreed to treat the group as a tribe. The “tribe” has partnered with Alan Ginsburg, a large scale speculator, found to have taken advantage of another tribe. In 2004, the tribe applied to BIA to have 30 acres of land just outside Richmond put into trust to construct a 225,000 casino complex, with 2,000 slots. The land is about 2 miles due west of Casino San Pablo on Richmond Parkway and one mile east of the bay. However, the tribe has land and is constructing housing near their old rancheria in Lake County. Under Senator McCain’s bill as currently drafted, this project would be grandfathered. Therefore, the “tribe” would claim this is restored land for a restored tribe under current Section 20, and would avoid the two-part determination (that the casino would not be detrimental to the surrounding community). The NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission) would likely issue an opinion letter supporting the application. Under Congressman Pombo’s bill, the project would be subject to new requirements and would need to establish a historical nexus, which they could not do. Therefore, at the April 5 hearing on Pombo’s bill, the Chairman requested that the project be exempted from the new law. Guidiville In 1909, Kelsey purchased about 50 acres of land in Mendocino near Talmage for use of the Guidiville Indians. In 1913, Kelsey purchased an additional 34 acres. The site, a few miles east of Ukiah, north and west of Scotts Valley, about 115 miles north of San Francisco, was purchased from private parties and had been under state jurisdiction. Unlike Lytton, the rancheria was immediately subdivided and assigned to 12 families. The property was not held in trust. Nor did the group formally organized as a tribe. In 1935, they held a vote and apparently declined to organize as a tribe under the IRA. In 1955, the “residents” requested that title to their tracts be transferred to them individually in fee. A Senate Report indicates that they were not formally organized. Authorization was included in a bill prior to the Rancheria Act. The descendants of the rancheria occupants joined the Scotts Valley litigation, and in 1991, without proceeding under the section 83 regulations, the BIA approved a settlement. The “tribe” has partnered with Harrahs, and has proposed a hotel complex on the bay, on 415 acres of land just north of the Richmond Bridge. In late 2004/early 2005, the tribe applied to have BIA take the land into trust. However, the BIA holds 42 acres of land just outside Ukiah, near the old rancheria, and the tribe is building 19 houses on the site. As with Scotts Valley, under Senator McCain’s bill as currently drafted, this project would be grandfathered. Therefore, the Guidiville group would claim this is restored land for a restored land designation under current section 20, and would avoid the two-part determination. Again, the NIGC would be expected to issue a letter favorable to the tribe. Under Congressman Pombo’s bill, the project would be subject to new requirements and would need to establish a historical nexus, which they could not do. Undoubtedly, they too are seeking to have a grandfather provision inserted into the Pombo bill. Here are the Members of the Resources Committee: Abercrombie, Neil (D-HI) – Phone: 202-225-2726 Fax: 202-225-4580 Honolulu 808-541-2570 Fax: 808-533-0133 Boren, David Daniel (D-OK) – Phone: 202-225-2701Fax: 202-225-3038 Muskogee Office: 918-687-2533 Brown, Henry (R-SC) – Phone: 202-225-3176 Fax: 202-225-3407 Charleston Office: 843-747-4175 Fax: 843-747-4711 Calvert, Ken (R-CA) – Phone: 202-225-1986 Fax: 202-225-2004 Riverside Office: 951-784-4300 Fax: 951-784-5255 Cannon, Christopher (R-UT) – Phone: 202-225-7751 Fax: 202-225-5629 Provo Office: 801-379-2500 Fax: 801-379-2509 Cardoza, Dennis (D-CA) – Phone: 202-225-6131 Fax: 202-225-0819 Modesto Office: 209-527-1914 Fax: 202-525-5748 Costa, Jim (D-CA) – Phone: 202-225-3341 Fax: 202-225-9308 Fresno Office: 559-495-1620 Fax: 559-495-1027 Cubin, Barbara (R-WY) – Phone: 202-225-2311 Fax: 202-225-3057 Casper Office: 307-261-6595 Fax: 307-261-6597 DeFazio, Peter (D-OR) – Phone: 202-225-6416 Fax: 202-225-0032 Eugene Office: 541-465-6732 Fax: 541-465-6458 Drake, Thelma (R-VA) Phone: 202-225-4215 Fax: 202-225-4218 Virginia Beach Office: 757-497-6859 Fax: 757-497-5474 Duncan Jr., John (R-TN) Phone: 202-225-5435 Fax: 202-225-6440 Knoxville Office: 865-523-3772 Fax: 865-544-0728 Flake, Jeff (R-AZ) Phone: 202-225-2635 Fax: 202-226-4386 Mesa Office: 480-833-0092 Fax: 480-833-6314 Gallegly, Elton (R-CA) Phone: 202-225-5811 Fax: 202-225-1100 Thousand Oaks Office: 805-497-2224 Gibbons, Jim (R-NV) Phone: 202-225-6155 Fax: 202-225-5679 Reno Office: 885-686-5760 Fax: 775-686-5711 Gilchrest, Wayne (R-MD) Phone: 202-225-5311 Fax: 202-225-0254 Chestertown Office: 410-778-9407 Fax: 410-778-9560 Gohmert, Louie (R-TX) Phone: 202-225-3035 Fax: 202-226-1230 Grijalva, Raul (D-AZ) Phone: 202-225-2435 Fax: 202-225-1541 Tucson Office: 520-622-6788 Fax: 520-622-0198 Hayworth, J. D. (R-AZ) Phone: 202-225-2190 Fax: 202-225-3263 Scottsdale Office: 480-926-4151 Fax: 480-926-3998 Herseth, Stephanie (D-SD) Phone: 202-225-2801 Fax: 202-225-5823 Sioux Falls Office: 605-367-8371 Inslee, Jay (D-WA) Phone: 202-225-6311 Fax: 202-226-1606 Mountlake Terrace Office: 425-640-0233 Fax: 425-776-7168 Jindal, Bobby (R-LA) Phone: 202-225-3015 Fax: 202-226-0386 Metairie Office: 504-837-1259 Jones, Walter (R-NC) Phone: 202-225-3415 Fax: 202-225-3286 Greensville Office: 252-931-1003 Fax: 225-931-1002 Kildee, Dale (D-MI) Phone: 202-225-3611 Fax: 202-225-6393 Flint Office: 810-239-1437 Fax: 810-239-1439 Kind, Ron (D-WI) Phone: 202-225-5506 Fax: 202-225-5739 La Cross Office: 608-782-2558 Fax: 608-782-4588 Markey, Edward (D-MA) Phone: 202-225-2836 Fax: 202-226-0092 Medford Office: 781-396-2900 McMorris, Cathy (R-WA) Phone: 202-225-2006 Fax: 202-225-3392 Spokane Office: 509-353-2374 Fax: 509-353-2412 Melancon, Charles (D-LA) Phone: 202-225-4031 Fax: 202-226-3944 Gonzales Office: 225-621-8490 Fax: 225-621-8493 Miller, George (D-CA) Phone: 202-225-2095 Fax: 202-225-5609 Concord Office: 925-602-1880 Fax: 925-674-0983 Musgrave, Marilyn (R-CO) Phone: 202-225-4676 Fax: 202-225-5870 Loveland Office: 970-663-3536 Napolitano, Flores, Grace (D-CA) Phone: 202-225-5256 Fax: 202-225-0027 Santa Fe Springs Office: 562-801-2134 Fax: 562-949-9144 Ortiz, Solomon (D-TX) Phone: 202-225-7742 Fax: 202-226-1134 Brownsville Office: 956-541-1242 Fax: 956-544-6915 Pallone Jr., Frank (D-NJ) Phone: 202-225-4671 Fax: 202-225-9665 Long Branch Office: 732-571-1140 Fax: 732-870-3890 Pearce, Steve (R-NM) Phone: 202-225-2365 Fax: 202-225-9599 Roswell Office: 505-622-0055 Fax: 505-625-9608 Peterson, John (R-PA) Phone: 202-225-5121 Fax: 202-225-5796 Titusville Office: 814-827-3985 Fax: 814-827-7307 Pombo, Richard (R-CA) Phone: 202-225-1947 Fax: 202-226-0861 Stockton Office: 209-951-3091 Fax: 925-866-7064 Radanovich, George (R-CA) Phone: 202-225-4540 Fax: 202-225-3402 Fresno Office: 559-449-2490 Fax: 559-449-2499 Rahall, Nick (D-WV) Phone: 202-225-3452 Fax: 202-225-9061 Beckley Office: 304-252-5000 Fax: 304-252-9803 Renzi, Rick (R-AZ) Phone: 202-225-2315 Fax: 202-226-9739 Show Low Office: 928-537-2800 Fax: 928-532-5088 Saxton, Jim (R-NJ) Phone: 202-225-4765 Fax: 202-225-0778 Mt. Holly Office: 609-261-5800 Fax: 609-261-1275 Tancredo, Tom (R-CO) Phone: 202-225-7882 Fax: 202-226-4623 Centennial/Englewood Office: 720-283-9772 Fax: 720-283-9776 Udall, Mark (D-CO) Phone: 202-225-2161 Fax: 202-226-7840 Westminster Office: 303-650-7820 Fax: 303-650-7827 Udall, Tom (D-NM) Phone: 202-225-6190 Fax: 202-226-1331 Santa Fe Office: 505-984-8950 Walden, Greg (R-OR) Phone: 202-225-6730 Fax: 202-225-5774 Medford Office: 541-776-4646 Fax: 541-779-0204 Young, Don (R-AK) Phone: 202-225-5765 Fax: 515-225-0425 Anchorage Office: 907-271-5978 Fax: 907-271-5950 ### Click here for a copy of the Pombo bill, HR 4893. http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/subcommittees/naia/nativeamer/offreshr4893.pdf or go to www.landrights.org Please forward this message as widely as possible. -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.