Letter: Signs of hope for tribes
The recent Madera County Board of Supervisors meeting in which the Chukchansi Tribe sought to stall the North Fork Rancheria resort project was sad in many ways but also contained a slight glimmer of hope for our two tribes as well as for Madera as a whole.
The sad part was the attempt by one tribe to interfere with and disrupt the federal land-into-trust process of another tribe. Such tactics resurrect the ugly spectacle of tribes fighting each other over money, federal laws, and even definitions of ancestral lands (as though Indians had traditionally lived with distinct boundaries and barbed wire fences with big ‘No Trespassing’ signs on them).
Yet a glimmer of hope emerged from this unfortunate spectacle and from a most unexpected source — the Chukchansi Tribe itself.
According to the video of that board meeting available on the county Web site, Supervisor Max Rodriguez’s wisely and bravely counseled both tribes to work together to create a climate “where all casinos benefit” through “more cooperation between the casinos.”
It was Dora Jones of the Chukchansi Tribal Council who then surprisingly picked up on that theme adding, “We could probably even put up a commuter system somehow between the casinos to make them more attractive to come to Madera County, spend your money in Madera County and have it remain here, not having to go out of the county, out of the state. It would stay here and you would have everybody coming together on this issue.”
This is music to the ears of the North Fork Rancheria, Madera County and countless other supporters of our project who have sought from the beginning to expand the local market through a mixture of friendly collaboration and competition.
As a Tribe, we have always believed and advocated that an additional casino will help, not hurt, to create and grow a regional destination marketplace for entertainment and hospitality in Madera.
Elaine Bethel-Fink,
Chairwoman of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California
WEBMASTER’S NOTE: Below is the rest of the letter submitted to The Madera Tribune by Elaine Bethel-Fink, chairwoman of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California.
At the April public hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the North Fork project, a representative of Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore reaffirmed this concept. He testified how initial fears of Table Mountain Casino cannibalizing their business did not materialize – just as Chukchansi did not later destroy Table Mountain profits and North Fork won’t destroy Chukchansi’s operation.
Indeed, the Tachi official pointed out, just the opposite is true. After an initial and temporary downturn caused by a new gaming entrant to the market, business and revenues quickly adjust and, over the long-term, exceed previous levels. That is one reason Tachi and other tribes supported the North Fork project in the public hearing.
Now it appears Chukchansi may finally be coming around as
well.
How else could one explain the comments of Ms. Jones? And how else could one explain why at the very time that Chukchansi was telling the Madera County Board of Supervisors that the North Fork project would cause massive layoffs and loss of revenues, they were completing a massive expansion to their casino and hotel? Expansions typically suggest unmet demand and a belief in promising times. Clearly Chukchansi was not worried enough about the North Fork project to postpone over $310 million worth of business expansion.
Just last month, Chairman Reid of Chukchansi was quoted in a front-page article in the San Francisco Chronicle on disenrollment as saying “our (Tribe’s) future looks very bright.” Let’s all believe in the great potential for the future on both our tribes.
While we remain confused by some of Chukchansi’s tactics, the North Fork Rancheria remains mostly hopeful by these recent
comments. We are hopeful that our two tribes, deeply intertwined by history, culture, and place, can work together to create the model of partnership envisioned by Supervisor Rodriguez, Ms. Jones, and many others. We are hopeful that our unique market, situated along major highways and planned highspeed rail lines, near national parks and the Sierras, and in a thriving agri-tourism region has the potential to become a world-class destination marketplace for good fun, food, and adventure.
We are hopeful that Chukchansi will stop fighting the North Fork project and understand that each day of further delay denies Madera nearly $300,000 in economic benefits and activity to our struggling economy and region. We are hopeful that Chukchansi will join Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the North Fork Rancheria, County of Madera, City of Madera, City of Chowchilla, Madera Irrigation District, Madera EDC, Madera Workforce Investment Board, Madera Sheriff, all of the local home county chambers of commerce, and thousands of other local community leaders, businesses, and citizens in working together to bring jobs, business opportunity, and community investment to Madera through the North Fork project.
We are hopeful Chukchansi will join us and do what is right — for all of Madera.
Does this mean that the Tribal Council of North Fork Rancheria reached out to the Picayune Rancheria to discuss Ms. Jones’ comments??
Chairwoman Elaine Bethel-Fink is not alone in her hopes that Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians will indeed do what is right…
As one of nearly 600 legitimate Chukchansi descendents disenrolled from Picayune since October of 2006, I say emphatically that many others are also waiting for our tribal government to do what is right in regard to our own people–honor our Creator and the Chukchansi ancestors by giving back our stolen “history, culture, and place”–our very identity and BIRTHRIGHT as Chukchansi people!!!
Picayune’s responsibility begins with honoring the traditional ways and values of Indian people, and of our Chukchansi ancestors. Picayune tribal leadership would do well to protect and nurture our elders and future generations, instead of pushing them–and the elders and future generations of other tribes as well–further down the path toward destruction.
Picayune Tribal Council…do what is right…
!!!BRING THE PEOPLE HOME TO PICAYUNE!!!
Cathy L. Cory
Chukchansi
Disenrolled/Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians
October 2006
It’s time for Californians to wake up to the situations with California’s gaming tribes. This IS NOT what we thought self reliance meant.
Chukchansi terminated 50% of the tribe, my tribe, Pechanga eliminated 25% in violation of ICRA. NOW, Chairman Macarro faces a stiff challenge and I’m sure wishes that he had some of the 300 voters he let get kicked out.
Central Valley residents, express your Moral Outrage at Chuckchansi, like Bill Cosby did and take your business ELSEWHERE. Do not support a regime that treats it’s people so badly.
Original Pechanga
Terminated member of Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians
In response to Ms. Cory’s comments on the Chukchansi tribal council disenrolling her and other descendants, this is a crying shame. What, we Indians do to each other is disguisting. Disenrolling, suspending, punishing, defaming, embarassing, etc. is nothing at all what our ancestors have taught us historically. Family, unity, cooperation, pride, values, etc. is what we were taught and should be teaching not only our young ones, but each other. Casinos, power, money and greed have caused this type of behavior and will only continue until some higher power intervenes, be it the BIA, Interior Department, or Congress. The Chukchansi tribe has been very very successful in stalling the North Fork casino project by at least one year, by lobbying to get the Dept of Interior to direct the additional environmental study of the old mill site in North Fork. This will hold up the final environmental impact statement from being completed, potentially causing the rest of the study to become outdated, and then upon submittal to the Dept of Interior of a Final EIS, Chukchansi will likely file a lawsuit on the Department’s decision for the fee to trust action for the Hwy 99 property for North Fork to build the project. This lawsuit will push North Fork into litigation for 2-3 years. The casino project at this point is probably not going to break ground or open within the next 5 years. This is unfortunate for Madera County and this community who are in grave need of economic development, jobs and a boost to the economy. Maybe Ms. Cory you should be proud, NOT to be a member of a tribe who has taken such extreme measures to prevent another neighboring tribe to be self-sufficient. Maybe you can have North Fork enroll you as a member, better yet, maybe ALL of the disenrolled members of Chukchansi can enroll in North Fork? But unfortunately, North Fork’s Tribal Council is heading down this same destructive path as well which is not being driven by Picayune, they are doing it to themselves.
Thank you Red Line for making the forum public. Let me be clear, I am FOR expanded gaming in California.
But, I grew up with the rule: “you can’t have seconds until everyone has eaten.”
Not all California tribes have “eaten” yet. Tribes like North Fork deserve their own casino and tribes in S. Calif like the Tongva and San Luis Rey deserve recognition.
Now, the news has broken that the Sycuan tribe, which we voted to expand their gaming has not even ratified their OWN compact yet and our Governor KNEW about it before the election. He CHOSE NOT to let us know that fact.
Money to our elected officials mean that their vision is clouded and they can’t see what is right. They turn their backs on thousands of Indians that have been terminated by their tribes and let’s face it so have we citizens. Job creation, new services is a good thing, but, do we turn our backs on civil rights violations to get them? Or do we express our moral outrage by letting corrupt tribal leaders know how we feel by not spending our money at their businesses?
The tribes are sovereign and have a right to mistreat their people. So are WE and we have a right not to support that mistreatment. It’s simple: DO THE RIGHT THING.
The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians own the land at Mono Hot Springs, CA. Every year, since 1969, they have leased the resort to JCW. Perhaps it is time that we take a closer look at what is taking place here…
Hey! The link didn’t show up in my post. Click on my name - I changed it. Thanks!
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