OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

 

OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY
Regarding Tribal Compacts

There is much confusion regarding tribal land and gaming expansion.  One
significant area of concern in the Santa Ynez Valley is the use of
off-reservation properties to support the casino operation; any property off
the current reservation being used to support the gaming operation appears
to be in violation of the tribal state gambling compact.
These off-reservation properties include the Royal Scandinavian Inn,
Federico's (employee training, recruitment center, bus depot, etc), the
Santa Ynez High School Parking lot, parking lots in Buellton, Lompoc and
Santa Maria, and McCormick's gas station.
Months ago, Preservation of Los Olivos, P.O.L.O. obtained the Tribal State
Gaming Compact.  P.O.L.O. attorneys reviewed the compact and concurred that
the use of these properties to support the Casino appears to violate the
compact.
As the Chumash Resort Hotel is often 100-percent full, booking people in the Royal
Scandinavian means more people and more gambling.  Parking casino patron
vehicles off reservation means more people and more gambling.  Moving the
Chumash training center off reservation means more room for more slot
machines and more gambling.  The Compact addresses this in section 2.8 by
defining areas that would be considered a gaming facility.  P.O.L.O. has
provided pages of documentation to the California Gambling Control
Commission, the Attorney General's Office Division of Gambling, Governor
Schwarzenegger's Office, and the County of Santa Barbara. 
None of these agencies will provide a definitive answer to the question.  We
are now asking the Tribal Gaming Agency, the agency written in the compact
as responsible for enforcement, for their determination. This agency is
located on-site at the Chumash Casino.
The Santa Ynez Band could also provide an answer to the question.

The following is section 2.8 of the Santa Ynez Band's tribal state compact:

Sec. 2.8: "Gaming Facility" or "Facility" means any building in which Class
III gaming activities or gaming operations occur, or in which the business
records, receipts, or other funds of the gaming operation are maintained
(but excluding offsite facilities primarily dedicated to storage of those
records, and financial institutions), and all rooms, buildings, and areas,
including parking lots and walkways, a principal purpose of which is to
serve the activities of the Gaming Operation, provided that nothing herein
prevents the conduct of Class II gaming (as defined under IGRA) therein.
Per the Santa Ynez Band's Tribal Gaming Compact, they are allowed two gaming
facilities on Indian Land.  Unless these properties have been taken into
trust, they are not on Indian land.
In addition to the 15.4 most favored tribe clause, P.O.L.O.'s concern with
the compacts has always focused on enforceability issues which the State and
our elected officials have a duty to provide to the citizens they represent.
The Attorney General's Office Division of Gambling told P.O.L.O. that
enforceability of the compacts is problematic because of tribal sovereignty.
P.O.L.O. will continually update the community as we receive information on
our request.

-Michael Byrne, P.O.L.O.

Los Olivos

 

 

565 Sovereign Indian Nations:  E Pluribus Disunion

 

Richard Gomez’s commentary in the Santa Ynez Valley News states that Indian tribes are sovereign nations with the entitlement to function as independent entities. “We are a sovereign nation” has been said over and over by the Santa Ynez Band, and is repeated all across the country.  These “sovereign nations” believe they are entitled by virtue of their race.  They are also subsidized by the American taxpayer.  Free health care, free college tuition, subsidized housing, multi-billion dollar gambling monopolies, etc.  Many casino tribes do not even require a person to be "Indian" to be a member of their tribe.

It would be most helpful if tribal leaders Mr. Gomez, Mr. Armenta or Ms. Snyder could answer the following questions:

What justification is there for promoting inequality through full tribal sovereignty, separate constitutions, separate tribal court systems but still dependent on the taxpayer and able to give millions of dollars to our political process?  What happens to representative government when non-transparent casino tribal businesses can now "buy" Sacramento and public policy? Why can these “sovereign nations” contribute unlimited and unreported dollars to our political campaigns when no other foreign country can? How can we have representative government when bureaucrats cry, “It is problematic to enforce the compacts because tribes are sovereign.  We (the County) can’t act until we consult with the Tribe, a sovereign government.”  How can a democracy exist when the safety, protections and civil rights of tribal members can be violated by their own tribal leaders?

To our elected officials I ask these questions:  Why are our soldiers dying overseas to essentially eradicate tribalism in order to establish representative government and democracy when you are promoting tribalism and separatism for 565 tribes within our borders only for political gain?  How can you justify this on the graves of the men and women who have given their lives for “One Nation, Indivisible?” Why are our service men and women risking their lives, as we speak, for democracy while you pander to casino dollars and trumpet Indian sovereignty? How are race-based, Indian casino monopolies controlling our politics and policy any different than apartheid?

The national debate must focus on the very important question: How can a democracy support full tribal sovereignty demanded by 565 federally recognized tribes, with another 100 applications pending by tribes for federal recognition, all entitled to American taxpayer funded programs that promote separatism, allowed to freely and without restriction contribute to our political process, dictating public policy, allowed to expand their tribal territories and gambling monopolies while ignoring public outcry and objections, fuel bureaucratic chaos as the public is refused representation, and still remain a democracy?

Without an answer to this question, democracy will fail.

 

-Kathy Cleary

Los Olivos