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. 

Protect Tribal Homelands - Our Story

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. 

There is no evidence of any Scotts Valley villages, burial sites, or tribal lands in or near Vallejo. Clear Lake is where Scotts Valley’s Pomo people lived. Clear Lake is where Scotts Valley’s ancestors first met with representatives of the United States. Clear Lake is where the United States set aside reservation lands for Scotts Valley’s use. Scotts Valley has admitted, under penalty of perjury, that its homelands are in Clear Lake, while Vallejo is Patwin territory. However, the Department of the Interior is nonetheless looking to approve Scotts Valley’s Vallejo land grab. This approval would set a dangerous precedent, rewarding tribes for “reservation shopping” far from their ancestral territories while penalizing tribes who have followed the law and played by the rules since IGRA’s enactment.

True Heritage

The Northeast Bay Area Is The Ancestral Land Of The Patwin People

For thousands of years, the Patwin people lived, worshipped, and worked to maintain an ecological balance in Vallejo and the surrounding areas of Solano County. Well-established and widely accepted historical evidence confirms that Vallejo and Solano County contain numerous Patwin villages, burials, and sacred sites. The California Native American Heritage Commission has designated the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, a Patwin tribe, as the most likely descendant of Native American remains found throughout Solano County. In fact, Solano County is named after the Patwin leader, Chief Solano (Sem-Yeto). And the United States has repeatedly recognized Solano County as Patwin ancestral territory, in a variety of regulatory contexts.

Although Patwin lands were taken by waves of Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers, the Patwin connection to Vallejo and Solano County has been continuous and unwavering. Patwin tribes (including the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation) hold a cultural easement from the City of Vallejo, allowing the tribes to preserve and protect their cultural resources along the shoreline of San Pablo Bay. They partner with local agencies to protect open space and restore native habitats in Vallejo and its surroundings. They helped create and continue to fund the Mobile Food Pharmacy, an award-winning program that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables. This program has distributed more than 2,400,000 pounds of healthy food based on 16,000 “food prescriptions” to needy Solano County residents. Yocha Dehe also helped create the Vallejo First 5 Center, funding its operations and programs for families in crisis. All services and programs are free to participants. This Center has served 2,063 families and 7,915 individuals in Solano County since 2018 alone, free of cost.

The Patwin people continue to steward their ancestral lands and care for the people who live there, Native and non-Native alike. That deep connection should be honored and protected; instead, the Department of the Interior is undermining it.

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A History of Rejection

The Department of the Interior has determined on three separate occasions that Scotts Valley lacks the significant historical connection to the Bay Area needed to acquire land eligible for gaming. Scotts Valley’s current attempt to build a casino ignores previous decisions and fabricates new facts to justify trampling on the rights of the area’s Patwin descendants.
 

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 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? 

The Environmental Assessment issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the proposed casino includes misleading site plans and renderings. This accurate representation of the proposed casino shows just how intrusive the structure would be and highlights some of the engineering and construction challenges.

A United Front

Numerous Tribes, Local Governments, Federal 
Elected Officials, State and Local Elected Officials, and
NGOs Oppose Scotts Valley's Proposed Casino

A diverse coalition of tribes, local governments, elected officials, and NGOs stand united against the Scotts Valley casino proposal. This widespread resistance highlights the serious concerns about the project’s legitimacy and impact. We urge the Department of the Interior to respect tribal sovereignty and protect Vallejo’s Patwin people’s ancestral lands.

08/22/2024

Yocha Dehe Environmental Assessment Full Comment

08/16/2024

Governor Newsom Opposition Letter

04/03/2024

County of Solano Letter to Secretary Haaland re: Fair Process on Remand