Transcript Slide 1
Research is Essential
to Effectively Oppose
Fee to Trust for a
Casino
Presented by Butch Cranford
[email protected]
Effectively Opposing a Casino Requires Research !
I am not a professional researcher - I am a concerned Citizen
My primary focus has been issues related to Fee to Trust for Gambling since 2003
What you will hear today is based on that experience
My experience includes working with members of other Community groups,
Government Officials, CERA Conference Attendees, & CERA
I learn each & every time I am in the company of this group
If a casino is proposed in your community, one of the first challenges you will face is:
“Why are you opposed to a casino?”
Research is necessary if you want to effectively oppose a proposed Casino
There are valid personal, religious, & / or moral reasons for opposing a casino
Personal, religious, or moral reasons are not considered by government decision makers
Now, why are you opposed?
What do you know about the Fee to Trust process, Indian Gambling
or Federal Indian Policy?
What do you know about the proposed casino or the Tribe?
What do you know about the negative impacts a casino will have on your community?
If the answers to these questions are NOTHING or VERY LITTLE
MAYBE YOU NEED TO DO SOME RESEARCH
What Is Research ?
Research is the careful, systematic, patient study & investigation
in some field of knowledge to establish facts, or principles.
You must identify WHAT facts or principles you need to establish
Determine WHO may have the information or knowledge of the information
(City, County, State, Federal Agencies, Private sources, Universities, other
communities, tribes, individuals etc)
Determine WHERE the information is located
(Local, City, County, State, Federal Offices or in Remote Locations, public
records, Public & Private Libraries archives of various types & of course
on the Internet)
Learn HOW to access or obtain the information
(Internet, copies, FOIA, Archives, public meetings, Conferences etc.)
Be prepared to explain WHY you need the information
Lastly decide HOW you will use the information & then USE it
Five (5) Research Areas / Fee to Trust for Gambling
1. The reasons to oppose a casino require research
Economic Social Environmental Legal
Much research is completed & data & reports are readily available.
Professor John Kindt & other experts have published extensive reports on the
serious negative impacts of casinos on local economies & the social
structure of communities.
Environmental issues will require research on a project by project basis but
there are issues common to casinos. (noise, traffic, crime, etc.)
A basic understanding of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) is
essential. CERA has a NEPA tool to assist in this area.
Information on legal issues, pending suits & Court decisions related to Fee to
Trust for gambling & Federal Indian Policy are readily available to any
researcher.
2. Indian Casino Gambling is authorized & regulated by laws, regulations,
court decisions, & legal opinions requiring research related to your
particular situation or issue
3. The Fee to Trust process for Indian Gambling is administered & regulated
by laws, regulations, court decisions, & legal opinions
requiring research to understand
4. The acquisition of land in trust is the Tribes objective & researching the
history of the land / property is required
5. Knowing the history of the tribe, as we learned in Carcieri, is important.
What Next?
It seems so overwhelming & complicated !
Where do you start?
What do you do first?
Who do you contact?
You are not the first person or community faced with this issue
Good News !! - A lot of research has been done.
There are reports, case files, reams of documents, & most importantly other
people waiting for you to find & use them.
Keep in mind you cannot find or learn or understand everything overnight
Remember: Research is the careful, systematic, patient study & investigation
in some field of knowledge to establish facts, or principles.
First, learn all you can about the proposed casino / project / Fee to Trust
Application.
The tribe or investor will provide a number of documents that define & explain the
project. (Usually a limited description)
Those documents are a good place to begin / they are often filled with errors,
false, misleading & supportable statements
Reasons to Oppose a Casino:
There are many serious negative economic, social, & environmental impacts
from a
casino which are well researched, documented, published &
available
Tribal / Investor documents are often not well researched & can be very misleading
Tribal / Investor documents present information that has little or no basis in fact
Tribal / Investor documents include data that is biased or simply manufactured
promote the casino as economically & socially beneficial to the community
to
Tribal / Investor documents will understate the negative environmental impacts
Data collected over the past 30 years indicates that casinos negatively impact. The
communities where they are located economically, socially, & environmentally
Data from independent researchers differs greatly from research & data paid for &
presented by tribes / investors attempting to build casinos
Sources for Our Research
The Internet - start Googling & Binging
One of the premier casino researchers is Professor John Kindt.
Professor Kindt's books, reports, & journals are excellent reference materials.
Websites such as Focus on the Family are linked to studies & data.
Contact with local, regional, national groups such as NCIP, SCPTA, CERA.
Fee to Trust for Gambling Research:
There are two separate & independent processes which can be confusing.
The Fee to Trust Process
The process for approving Indian Gambling
Regulations for the Fee to Trust Process are found at 25 CFR 151 & a Fee to Trust paper by
Larry J. Scrivner is helpful.
The Office of Indian Gaming's Checklist for Gaming Acquisitions Gaming Related
Acquisitions & IGRA Section 20 Determinations is helpful. It is based on 25CFR151
It has been our experience that while these two documents provide an outline for
the Fee to Trust process the BIA & DOI may not (do not) follow them.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act governs Indian Gaming (Chapter 29 of Title 25)
The NIGC Website is a good source for IGRA related information & documents.
Gambling Laws, Regulations, Tribal State Compacts, Management Contracts, Gaming
Ordinances & Lands Opinions are all available on the NIGC
website.
NIGC Regulations pursuant to the IGRA are found at 25 CFR Part 151
The BIA, NIGC, & DOI do not follow the law or their own regulations in the
administration of the fee to trust process for gaming.
Fee to Trust for Gambling Research:(cont'd)
Sources for Our Research
CERA & other CERA members
The Internet
Title 25 & 25 CFR
Solicitor Opinions
NIGC Lands Opinions (NIGC.org)
IBIA Cases (Interior Board of Indian Appeals)
Court Cases
Inspector General Reports
Government Accounting Office Reports
Office of Indian Gaming
Department of the Interior
Memos from the Tribe's Attorneys to the Regional Director
What Our Research About the Land Revealed
The tribe's claim they owned the 12 parcels to be taken into trust were false
The tribe did not own a single one of the 12 parcels
The tribe's new claim that they had options to purchase the land were false
The tribe's investor IKON now Valley View Packing has options to purchase the
12 parcels
Almost nothing the Tribe claimed about the land was factual
This alleged “landless” Ione Band actually owns 40 acres near Ione
Sources for our Research:
Amador County Recorder's Office
Amador County Assessor's Office
Documents from the Historic Ione Band
Documents from the BIA & DOI
You can do this research yourself or you can also hire a title company to do
a title search if you wish. If someone in your community has worked in Real
Estate they may do a title search at no charge.
History of the Ione Band of Miwok
They are not an IRA Tribe & did not vote on the IRA in 1934/35
The Indians at Ione are from several different tribes
The United States has never purchased any land for the Ione Band
The United States has never held any land in trust for the Ione Band
They acquired 40 acres near Ione in 1972 via quiet title in the Amador County Superior Court
Federally Recognized in 1972 but not put on the list of recognized tribes
1972 Recognition reaffirmed in 1994 by Ada Deer & put on the list of recognized tribes
Their ownership & occupation of 40 acres was critical to the 1994 reaffirmation.
The fraudulent group proposing to build the casino is not the Ione Band of Miwok.
The Regional BIA Director & several members of her family are members of this
fraudulent group created by BIA Pacific Regional Office
Sources for our Research:
Documents received from the Historic Ione Band living on the 40 acres near Ione.
Documents from BIA, DOI, Office of Acknowledgement, the Solicitor & EPA
Title & Tax records & documents from the Amador County Recorder & Assessor's Office.
Documents from the EPA proving the “landless” Ione Band applied for & received
grant monies to improve the 40 acres owned by the Ione Band
Documents from the Federal Court & the Amador Superior Court.
Comprehensive Study done by Researcher Professor Stephen Dow Beckham
Census Records
Documents from National & Regional Archives
Fee to Trust Application Research
No FTT Application until Nov. 2006 even though the tribe referred to a Fee to Trust
Application continuously from 2003 to Nov. 2006
A “draft” Fee to Trust application was obtained in May 2005 via our Congressman
The November Fee to Trust Application was based on a Sept. 2006 Restored lands opinion
The restored lands opinion was challenged in Federal Court by NCIP, the County & State
The suits were dismissed / the Restored Lands Opinion was not a final decision by the DOI
The restored lands opinion was so filled with false statements it was withheld from
public comment on the FTT Application with more than 20 other documents
The Regional Director did not follow the FTT procedures in the Office of Indian Gaming
Checklist for Gaming Acquisitions Gaming Related Acquisitions & Section 20
Determinations
Former Deputy Assist. Sec. Indian Affairs, Aureen Martin was employed by the law
firm representing the Ione Band & worked to facilitate processing of the
application
The BIA employee who conducted the 2003 / 04 Scoping Sessions for the Ione Band went
to work for the firm that produced the Tribes Draft Environmental Impact Report
The Ione Band's Fee to Trust Application processed by a Tribal Fee to Trust
Consortium within the Pacific Regional Office whose job was to “approve”
Fee to Trust Applications
This Consortium was not known to or approved by the Central Office in D.C. & in 2006 the
IG reported the Consortium was a “conflict of interest”
After receiving a well documented & fact based request from NCIP in Oct. 2008 to
withdraw the restored lands opinion, Solicitor General David J. Bernhardt
withdrew & reversed the opinion in Jan 2009 because it was WRONG
This withdrawal & reversal by Solicitor Bernhardt has halted processing of the FTT
Application & effectively stopped the proposed casino
Fee to Trust Application Research cont'd
Sources for our Research:
United States Congressman
The Federal Register
Memos & Documents from the BIA / DOI / NIGC
Briefs & Court Documents from the Muwekma Ohlone case in the D.C. District
A FOIA through a law firm which produced more than 1500 pages of documents –
More effective than our FOIA's
The Fee to Trust Application
The Restored Lands Opinion
Documents from the land research
Memo from the Tribe's Attorney to the Regional Director
The heavily redacted IG Report on the Fee to Trust Consortium obtained by
POSY as part of their case in Santa Barbara.
POLO /
Records from Plymouth City Hall
We are unable to obtain the Bernhardt opinion that found the restored lands opinion
written by former Secretary Of Indian Affairs Carl Artman was WRONG
How to Use Your Reseach !
Inform & Educate your local community & City, County, & State Officials
Inform & Educate local & State officials, the U.S. Congress, the Inspector General,
the DOI, BIA, & NIGC.
Should it become necessary use it to litigate
Based on the the Research we have done:
We can support every allegation & charge we have made about the unethical
&
illegal activities engaged in by the Tribe, the BIA, the DOI, the Solicitor, & the NIGC in
the administration of the Ione Band's Fee to Trust Application for Gambling.
We can prove that either former Secretary of Indian Affairs, Carl J. Artman, made false
& misleading statements in the restored lands opinion OR
the DOI presented briefs containing false & misleading statements to the D.C. District
Court about the Ione Band in the Muwekma-Ohlone case before that court.
I believe Solicitor Bernhardt withdrew the Artman Opinion because it is not defensible
in Court due to its deficiencies related to the facts & the truth.
I now believe Tribes, the DOI, the BIA & the NIGC will do what is necessary to
approve casinos where no casinos can legally be approved including subverting
& ignoring their own Regulations & the LAW.
Certainly a Betrayed Trust / I wish it were otherwise !