A federal judge has ruled that the Bureau of Indian Affairs acted correctly when it put land into trust for the Northern California Mechoopda Indian Tribe Of Chico Rancheria.
The land into trust decision by the BIA had been challenged by local officials opposed to the 42,000 square foot casino with 500 slots and ten gaming tables that the tribe wants to put on a section of the 625 acres that was put into trust about ten miles south of Chico near the junction of Highways 99 and 149.
The tribe has owned the land since 2001 when it first applied to put it into trust. The application was granted in 2008 and challenged by Butte County, home to Gold Country Casino And Hotel and the Feather Falls Casino And Lo. The County objected on grounds of environmental and water supply concerns.
An appeal court ordered the Department of the Interior to review its decision, which it did, concluding that its original judgment was correct. Butte County challenged this finding in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, this time challenging the tribe’s historical roots to the area. The tribe claims its forebears were the first people to live in Chico.
The judge in the case, Judge Frederick Scullin, in a 17-page decision called the 2014 ruling “thorough and well-reasoned,” and added, “The secretary noted that he had derived the recitation of the tribe’s history from his review of all of the documents submitted by the tribe and the county as well as his own independent research.”
Tribal Chairman Dennis Ramirez issued a statement after the decision: “The Mechoopda Indian Tribe looks forward to advancing our proposed casino project. In doing so, we plan to drive economic development in Butte County for years to come.”
Sandra Knight, vice chairman of the Mechoopda tribe told KHSL TV: “Since we were re-recognized, we have the right to establish reservation or tribal land in Chico. They went after the tribe at its core, saying that we were a manufactured tribe. This is just a main economic development project for the tribe that will create funding for future generations; childcare, healthcare, all of those things that we haven’t been able to provide for our members.”
