We were grossly misled. More than one-half of California Indians are not eligible for the gaming revenues because they are not acknowledged by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
In the 1850s, Congress lied to the California Indian nations in the "18 Treaties," which 50 years later, after California Indians were subdued by the promises of the treaties, became the "18 Unratified Treaties." The California State Senate was too greedy to give up the land promised-so the treaties were hidden for fifty years. As a result, there were thousands of homeless California Indians, who would not stay in Round Valley or the other death camps (reservations) of the frontier era-when the west was "won."
Under pressure from prominent, educated citizens like Grace and John Hudson, who lobbied Congress to protect these dispossessed people, the US bought small parcels of land for them. 130 years later the same government is now calling those dispossessed people "Federally Recognized Tribes."
The Yokayo Tribe, which sacrificed, toiled, slaved and negotiated to buy back a piece of our own land, is now being punished for being independent in the 1880s.
The Yokayo Tribe is not eligible due to a mistake by a clerk-typist in the BIA office, who left our name off the list of eligible tribes.
We were told that Proposition 5 would take care of all California tribes-"non-gaming" tribes were to get 2% of the gaming revenues of the "casino tribes" of California.
Because not all California tribes are eligible to have a casino, the "non-gaming" tribes were included in the profits-2% every year, which amounts to $300,000 every quarter, for the eligible tribes: approximately 100 small tribes, some with members numbering 50 and one tribe has only one member.
The latest assault by the federal government is that the Solicitor's Office is proposing to make the definition of native Americans more selective by requiring one-quarter native blood. I hope to continue this discussion in future issues of this Newsletter.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2002
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited