A federal judge has upheld the election of the tribal council of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, a tribe in Central California that recently reopened the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino after it was closed more than a year.
The judge rejected four appeals to the results of the election, which was held in October. A group within the tribe that claims that only its members are allowed to vote for tribal officers brought the appeals.
The casino closed for a year due to struggling tribal factions. One of the factions led an armed raid on the casino that forced the casino’s closure. The judge’s action here was unrelated to that incident.
The plaintiffs are looking into appealing the decision. An attorney for the group, Gary Montana, calls the decision. “arbitrary and capricious.”
Although the tribe has a tribal court that reviews some actions, not all factions in the tribe support that court to act fairly. Hence their resort to the federal court system.
