President Biden and Secretary Haaland Must Respect Tribal Sovereignty and Cultural Heritage
The Department of the Interior has been working in secret to fast-track a massive urban casino in the Bay Area city of Vallejo, undermining public notice, tribal consultation, and environmental review requirements along the way.
The Department of the Interior is considering a proposal by the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians – from Clear Lake, nearly 100 miles away – to exploit a loophole in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), but the real beneficiaries would be rich Las Vegas investors. Local Patwin tribes, who have worked for generations to protect cultural and ecological resources in and around Vallejo, have been cut out of the process and would be irreparably harmed.
The Issue
No Historical Ties: Scotts Valley's Vallejo Claim Lacks Evidence
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians is “reservation shopping,” using a loophole in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that was meant to allow landless tribes to recover portions of their former reservations. But Scotts Valley is not landless – it owns property, maintains a government headquarters, and owns an energy company in its Clear Lake homeland, where most of its members live. Scotts Valley is not seeking to recover its former reservation northwest of Clear Lake – instead, it has sought to appropriate Patwin ancestral lands in the Bay Area, nearly 100 miles away.
True Heritage
The Northeast Bay Area Is The Ancestral Land Of The Patwin People
timeline
A History of Rejection
1991
Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians is restored to federal recognition.
2005
After waiting for 14 years, Scotts Valley submits a Fee-to-Trust (FTT) application for land in Richmond, CA rather than its ancestral Pomo homelands in Clear Lake.
2012
The Department of the Interior denies Scotts Valley’s FTT application for the Richmond site, citing a lack of historical connection to the area.
2015
Scotts Valley Tribe signs an agreement with a developer targeting gaming land in Napa, Solano, or Sonoma Counties.
2016
Scotts Valley Tribe requests a “Restored Lands” determination for a site in Vallejo, CA.
2017
2019
Scotts Valley reinstates its request for a “Restored Lands” determination; the Department of the Interior formally denies the request, finding Scotts Valley lacks a significant historical connection to Vallejo. Scotts Valley files suit.
2020
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation petitions to intervene in the litigation; the Department of the Interior claims intervention is unnecessary because the litigation will not result in any harm to Yocha Dehe’s interests. The United States further promises that Patwin tribes will be allowed full participation in any future proceedings.
2022
United States District Court for the District of Columbia rules that the case should be returned to The Department of the Interior for further consideration; Department of Justice describes the ruling as “clear error” yet fails to pursue an appeal.
2023
Scotts Valley matter remanded to the Department of the Interior for further decision-making; Yocha Dehe and other affected tribes request a fair, transparent, fact-based process allowing meaningful participation.
2024
Further requests for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to set a fair, transparent, and fact-based process allowing for meaningful participation by affected tribes and other stakeholder; Bureau of Indian Affairs refuses to respond.
Without notice to local Patwin tribes, other tribal and governmental stakeholders, or the public at large, Bureau of Indian Affairs orders Pacific Regional Office to process Scotts Valley’s request.
A Flawed Process
Secretive Land Grab: No Notice, No Local Input
The Department of the Interior has been working secretly to fast-track Scotts Valley’s request for a “restored lands” decision, excluding affected tribes, local governments, and the public at large from the process.
Local Patwin tribes have repeatedly requested that the Bureau of Indian Affairs establish a fair, transparent, and fact-based review process. So have other tribal governments. Ignoring those requests, the Department of the Interior secretively directed its Pacific Regional Office to process Scotts Valley’s application. Since then, they have rejected requests to disclose Scotts Valley’s application materials to the public and have refused to comply with its obligation to release the documents pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. What is the Department of the Interior afraid of?
A United Front
