The Chukchansi tribe, owners of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in California’s gold country, has sworn in a newly elected council that hopes to reopen the casino, closed for more than a year,
However many challenges remain before that can happen, no least of which is that a considerable portion of the tribe does not think the recent election was legitimate or that the council is legally constituted.
The tribe has been divided for years, a division that came to a head a year ago October when one faction sent an armed band into the casino to seize financial records it claimed were needed to keep the casino open.
Several factions claim the mantle of leadership despite the fact that the October 3 was upheld by the Indian Dispute Resolution Services. The election results have been appealed by one group that claims that members who were not allowed to participate in the election did so, tainting the results.
That election seated a council that was sworn in on October 26. It includes former chairman and leader of one of the factions Morris Reid and six supporters. The new tribal Chairman is Claudia Gonzales.
The new council wants to reopen the casino, as Reid noted in a statement. “Please be patient,” she said. “It took four years to put us here but we are working hard already to get us moving forward again.”
One of the dissenting factions, a group of 40 members who claim they are the only legal members, plan to hold their own election next month.
The leader of another faction, Reggie Lewis, recently told the Fresno Bee that he was willing to giving up fighting for control in order to get the casino reopened.
Reopening requires the assent of the National Indian Gaming Commission, the U.S. District Court and California Attorney General Kamala Harris. It also requires that the tribe sign a memorandum of understanding between the tribe and Madera County and for the tribe to pay the county $3.2 million for three years of missed payments. The tribe will also need to agree to make yearly contributions to the county’s budget to cover fire protection, roads, and other programs.
NIGC last week issued a statement: “Our priority is to ensure the facility reopens under circumstances that protect the safety of patrons, employees, and tribal members and so that the issues which led to the closure in the first place are not repeated. From our standpoint there is no timeframe as to when this will occur.”
