LAKE COUNTY — A Pomo Indian tribe with strong ties to Lake County is honing in on its goal after a four-year battle to receive approval from the feds for a casino plan on property in unincorporated Contra Costa County near North Richmond. After 30 days for the public to weigh in on a final environmental impact statement the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs announced Friday it will file, the next step could be a federal decision on whether the Bay Area site qualifies as “restored land.”
Restored land is what the Scotts Valley Pomo tribe claims the land is as part of the tribe”s 10,000-plus page application to build the planned 225,000-square foot casino and five-story parking structure on approximately 30 acres the tribe”s investors purchased.
“Restored land is a situation where you prove that your ancestors were in this area ? it calls for a historical connection and modern day connection,” the tribe”s Chairman Don Arnold said.
The Scotts Valley Pomo tribe”s former Rancheria was in Lake County, its main office is in Lakeport and about half of the tribe”s 219 members live in the area, with a portion of the members living in the Richmond area, Arnold said.
He said he does not believe a casino is the answer, but that it could help tribal members in Lake County who are in the low economic bracket.
“I”m hoping that it could send more people to JC”s [junior college”s] who would like to go, send more people to a four-year college and I”m hoping we can get more people educated,” Arnold said.
He cited high unemployment rates in the county, lack of sufficient job opportunities and lack of adequate health care as reasons a casino could help the tribe”s Lake County members.
“There”s a consortium of five or six tribes that put money together to build a clinic, there”s a wait of four to five hours to get in to see a doctor?we had an eye examination about two years ago for the whole tribe and four or five people in their 20s were on their way to being diabetic,” Arnold said of the health care challenges in the county for tribal members.
In regards to the casino being built, Arnold said he does not know “if it”s ever going to go through.”
“The goal is to try to get the land into trust, and that requires federal approval. I”ve been on this for 10 years, if you had asked me five years ago, I would have said I don”t know and I still don”t know,” Arnold said.
Those opposed to the casino include tribal member dissidents who would rather see a casino in Lake County, as well as Contra Costa County Supervisors and Bay Area residents opposed to a casino in the area. The proposed casino would be the first Las Vegas-style casino in the Bay Area.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
