Opponents of the casino planned by The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria near Rohnert Park are fine tuning a legal challenge to be filed against the Department of Interior.
Station Casinos wants to develop the casino-resort on Wildfred Avenue, just west of the city. The idea has been a source of contention in Sonoma County for more than nine years.
In May, a group called Stop the Casino 101 Coalition filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jerry Brown, alleging Brown had no right to sign a compact with the tribe. The group maintains that jurisdiction for the land was never ceded back to the federal government after California became a state. In other words, although the tribe may own the land, they don't actually hold sovereignty to it,according to the litigation.
Attorney Michael Healy, who represents the group, told Patch that he will file a similar complaint in federal court, alleging that the Department of Interior did not properly take the land into trust, meaning that California land use laws still apply.
Marilee Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the coalition said that even through "the federal government may hold title, it does not hold trust to the land."
Stop the Casino is led by Rohnert Park Assembly Pastor Chip Worthington. It's a secular organization that includes residents from throughout Sonoma County, Montgomery said.
She said the basis for the group's litigation is that when California became a state, the federal government ceded jurisdiction over all land in the state to the state government. The underlying issue is whether the state has ceded jurisdiction back to the federal government and whether, in turn, the federal government has properly taken the land into trust.
Some Indian Law experts say the lawsuit may delay the casino but is unlikely to stop it.
Greg Sarris, chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, did not respond to calls regarding the lawsuit.
Montgomery says thousands of people have lent their support to the opposition effort through donations and other means. Her primary concerns are over environmental issues, such as traffic and air pollution, she said.
Click here to read the environmental impact statement on the casino.
What do you think of the complaint against the Department of the Interior? Are you concerned about the casino's impacts on Rohnert Park and the surrounding area?
Jacques makes a good point - but I don't think for the right reason. The Rohnert Park Municipal Code provides requirements for improving the surrounding roads, sidewalks, lighting, etc. But public transportation is not part of that. And it should be. And Sonoma County Public Transit is woeful. Simply abhorrent. I recommend - rather URGE the country supervisors and SCTA members to actually try to get somewhere on the bus. Not just take a ceremonial tour, but find out what it actually takes to get to and from a job on a regular basis. SCTA: http://bit.ly/TOw2xe
I wish the lawsuit well and success but I am not hopeful. I have nothing but good wishes for Native Americans. I hope that Native Americans 25% or more (by DNA verification) get FREE education thru college, university and professional school. I'd like to see Native Americans live in good homes. I'd like to see Native American languages preserved and passed on. I'd like to see Native Americans as accountants, bankers, doctors, lawyers, artists, writers, whatever they =want= to be rather than just laborers and housemaids. But, I'm not sure that the FIGR Casino-Resort is going to help with that...
To Cassandra; There are a lot of Native Americans who feel the casinos are not the answer to the social ills of the various Native American tribes through out the country. However, they have provided some improvement with some of the social issues of the tribes, so right know, casinos are a partial answer. Until the formula that is used to determine how the Native American Housing and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA) funds are allocated to the Native American tribes is changed so as to be more equitable for the smaller tribes, like here in California, the casinos are the only other answer.
If the tribe wants to build their own road from San Francisco to the casino, let them do it. Otherwise, move the casino to a different location.
This casino will smoke River Rock in size. They're promoting this casino to people in SF. If you shave off 40 minutes off of a ride to a much bigger casino, do you think there will be more traffic? Station Casinos sure thinks so.
There are a number of funds and scholarships for Native Americans, not to mention policies that also help them get into college during the application process. All that casinos do is bring greed to a few and very little help to the rest. It just creates more dependency while tainting what it means to be of Indian descent. It's a dirty deal all the way around.
Robert Aherne