The Lytton Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians in Northern California want to transform land near Windsor into a tribal homeland, but are encountering opposition from residents who fear they want to put a casino there.
So far the 270-member tribe, which operates the San Pablo Lytton Casino on a ten-acre parcel 17 miles from San Francisco want to use some of that money to build a 200-room hotel and winery in the town. They have said they don’t plan to build a casino.
The federal government in 1958 abolished the tribe’s rancheria. For the past several years the tribe has been buying land near the town. It wants to put about 500 acres into federal trust and first applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs six years ago. It is now trying to sidestep the Bureau of Indian Affairs through the actions of a sympathetic congressman, Rep. Jared Huffman. Huffman is the author of a bill that would put the land into trust.
Sonoma County negotiated a 22-year deal in March that would prevent the tribe from building another casino in return for putting 1,300 acres into trust. The tribe will also pay the county $6 million annually.
According to tribal attorney Larry Stidham, “It’s as close as they can get to their original aboriginal territory out in Healdsburg.” He added, “It’s an extraordinarily fair deal. There’s nothing like this in the United States in terms of agreements reached between the county and the tribe.”
Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore reiterates that, “The County’s agreement calls for 22 years of no gambling on that location. They waived their sovereign independence over those items. That’s a big deal for us.”
Opponents, calling themselves “Citizens for Windsor,” have taken out full-page newspaper ads asking that the town council and mayor of Windsor not negotiate a deal with the tribe to provide services, such as water and sewer, and to oppose the Huffman bill. They accuse the council of trying to reach an agreement with the tribe in secret.
In return for services, the tribe has promised to pay to build a municipal swimming pool at a cost of about $11 million, and pay to keep it open. Town officials fear that if they don’t negotiate a deal with the tribe before it is granted the right to put land into trust that it will lose all leverage. The town does not have the ability to stop the land from being put into trust, no matter whether it signs an agreement or not.
A spokesman for the group, Eric Wee, told the Santa Rose Press-Democrat “Citizens are upset they’re not being heard.” He added, “We have a groundswell of outraged citizens who can’t believe they’re being treated this way by elected officials.”
The group has forced the town council to secure a larger room to accommodate the much larger crowd expected at its next meeting. Hundreds of residents are expected. The meeting will feature a presentation by the tribe and Sonoma County officials, the congressman, opponents of the project and attorneys who are expert in tribal law.
No one remembers such a meeting ever being held in the town.
Mayor Bruce Okreptie promises to clarify things and give people answers. “I’d rather have that all out there on the table, see what’s going on, and move on from there,” he told the Press-Democrat.
Huffman defends his bill from critics by pointing out that, unlike the Bureau of Indian Affairs, it gives certainty over what the tribe can and cannot do. During subcommittee hearings in June he said, “The tribe has worked very hard to reach agreements and address potential concerns from its neighbors and local governments.”
