A casino-rich Southern California Indian tribe wants to expand into defense contracting by buying a piece of the famed manufacturer of Colt firearms.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, owners of Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Riverside County about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, plans to submit a bid for Colt Defense, the division of Colt Manufacturing Co. serving the law enforcement, military and private security markets.
The parent company, founded in West Hartford, Conn., 179 years ago, was the leading American gun-maker in the period between the Civil War and World War I and perhaps is best-known as a pioneer of the revolver, dubbed “The gun that won the West.”
Colt Manufacturing filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code after missing a $900,000 interest payment due in May.
A spokesman Fisher for the tribe, one of the largest employers in the region, with holdings ranging from agriculture to health care to retail, said Colt Defense would round out its business portfolio nicely.
The opportunity to secure federal weapons contracts figures large in the move, he said. “Morongo sees defense contracting as the significant business opportunity. For more than 175 years, Colt has been a recognized international leader in the design and manufacturing of firearms for the U.S. military and law enforcement.”
But he added there are patriotic considerations as well. “More than 10 percent of the Native American population saw active service in World War II. That history is important to Morongo.
“Morongo would like to see the Colt brand continue, and we’d like America’s military to continue to be supplied by an American company.”
And he emphasized that no decision on the purchase would be made without approval of the tribal membership.
