Lytton Band of Pomo Indians
Encyclopedia
- This page is for the Indian band in California. For the government of the Nlaka'pamuxNlaka'pamuxThe Nlaka'pamux , commonly called "the Thompson", and also Thompson River Salish, Thompson Salish, Thompson River Indians or Thompson River people) are an indigenous First Nations/Native American people of the Interior Salish language group in southern British Columbia...
(Thompson) people in Lytton, British ColumbiaLytton, British ColumbiaLytton in British Columbia, Canada, sits at the confluence of the Thompson River and Fraser River on the east side of the Fraser. The location has been inhabited by the Nlaka'pamux people for over 10,000 years, and is one of the earliest locations settled by non-natives in the Southern Interior of...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
see Lytton First NationLytton First NationThe Lytton First Nation is a First Nations government headquartered at Lytton in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia...
.
The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians is a tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
of Pomo
Pomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...
Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s created in the late 1980s by lineal descendants of the two families who lived at the Lytton Rancheria in Healdsburg, California
Healdsburg, California
Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 11,254...
from 1937 to about 1960. The tribe now has between 200 and 300 members. Their efforts to build a Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
-style casino in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
have been met with controversy.
History
The tribe was founded in 1937 by Bert Steele, who was one-quarter AchomawiAchomawi
The Achomawi are one of eleven bands of the Pit River tribe of Native Americans who lived in northeastern California, USA....
and part Nomlaki
Nomlaki
The Nomlaki are a Wintun people native to the area of the Sacramento Valley, extending westward to the Coast Range in Northern California. Currently one person speaks Nomlaki...
, and his wife, a Pomo
Pomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...
from Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay, California
Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast....
, when they successfully petitioned the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
for the right to build on a 50 acres (202,343 m²) plot north of Healdsburg north of Lytton Station Road after Steele's home was destroyed in a flood. Along with his brother-in-law, John Myers, and his wife, Mary Myers Steele (both Pomo
Pomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...
from Sonoma
Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of the California wine industry and often called The Valley of the Moon. Sonoma Valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards and wineries in the state, some of which survived the phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s and the impact of Prohibition...
), he moved onto the land, which the government had set aside for Native Americans. http://google.com/search?q=cache:GUcia2h4D4QJ:207.41.18.73/caed/DOCUMENTS/Opinions/Levi/01-1530.pdf+bert+steele+pomo&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2&client=safari This land became the Lytton Rancheria
Ranchería
The Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to native villages and to the workers' quarters of a ranch. English adopted the term with both these meanings, usually to designate the residential area of a rancho in the American...
and the namesake for the tribe
In 1958, in accordance with a policy of assimilating
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
Native Americans into the rest of American society, Congress terminated the federal trust in the reservations lands of over forty California bands, including the Lytton Rancheria. The Lytton band was dissolved and its land was deeded to its members. As part of the agreement, the government agreed to perform several improvements on the land, such as building roads and installing sewage service, but failed to do so. Within a year, the land-owning Lyttons had all sold, for reasons that are not clear; some current tribe members say that their ancestors did not understand property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es and so were forced to sell, while other sources dispute that claim.
In 1991 the Lyttons successfully petitioned the government to restore their tribal status. Though the Lytton Band does not divulge a complete list of members, most sources report the band now has over 200 members. According to tribal leadership, they have been plagued with crime, poverty, alcoholism and homelessness, with an unemployment rate of between 40 and 70 percent.
Other bands of Pomo include the Guideville Band of Pomo Indians
Guideville Band of Pomo Indians
The Guideville Band of Pomo Indians is a Native American tribe of the Pomo Indians of northern California.-History:The tribe's origin is of the original setters of areas in Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma Counties...
and the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
Acquisition of Casino San Pablo cardroom
After the community of American Canyon rebuffed the Lyttons' attempts to turn an existing cardroom into a casino, the Lyttons set their sights on the city of San PabloSan Pablo, California
San Pablo is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Paul V. Morris, and the current Vice Mayor is Cecilia Valdez. Current Councilmembers include Arturo M....
, home of the Casino San Pablo
Casino San Pablo
Casino San Pablo is a Native American reservation with a gambling hall located in San Pablo, California. It is operated by the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians.-History:...
(CSP) cardroom. Cardrooms are California gambling establishments where the house has no stake in the games. Customers typically pay a fixed amount to the house per hand, regardless of whether they win or lose.
With the assistance of the city of San Pablo and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union
The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union , was a United States labor union representing workers of the hospitality industry, formed in 1891. In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees to form UNITE HERE. HERE notably organized the staff of Yale...
, the Lyttons lobbied local Congressman George Miller
George Miller (politician)
George Miller III is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. From 2007 through 2010, Miller served as chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, formerly known as the Education and the Workforce Committee.-Early life, education, and early...
to help turn Casino San Pablo into their reservation. Under the terms of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is a 1988 United States federal law that establishes the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming. There was no federal gaming structure before this act...
, only tribes who acquired land prior to 1988 would be eligible to operatore casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s on their landhttp://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2001-06-06/news/feature_full.html. The Lyttons regained their tribal status in 1991 and were ineligible. Miller added a provision to the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000 that took CSP into federal trust and backdated its acquisition to 1988. When President Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
signed the bill into law, the Lyttons gained the right to turn the CSP, formerly a low-stakes cardroom, into a full-fledged casino with much more profitable gambling devices and games such as slot machines and blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
.
Miller's backdating clause, in a section labeled "technical corrections," has been described as "midnight legislation" and "underhanded". Professor Nelson Rose, a gambling law expert from Whittier College, said the bill "bordered on illegal".https://san.secure.newtimes.com/issues/2001-06-06/news/feature_print.html Others dispute that the language was added inappropriately; a former staffer for U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye
Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii, a member of the Democratic Party, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history. Inouye is the chairman of the United States Senate...
described the process as nothing out of the ordinary, saying, "That's the way the republic works"http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2001-06-06/news/feature_full.html.
Casino expansion plans
The Lyttons' plans for their casino have undergone several changes since inception. In order to operate so-called Class IIIIndian Gaming Regulatory Act
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is a 1988 United States federal law that establishes the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming. There was no federal gaming structure before this act...
games, such as slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s, Native American casinos must negotiate a compact with the state; the Lyttons have revised their casino plans several times in the hopes of procuring such a compact from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. One element of the plan has been the Lyttons' request that the state grant them a monopoly on gaming within a 35 miles (56.3 km) radius of CSP.
After acquiring Casino San Pablo, the Lyttons announced plans to expand it from 70000 square feet (6,503.2 m²) into a 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) six- to eight-story casino with up to 5,000 slot machineshttp://www.gamingmagazine.com/ManageArticle.asp?C=540&A=14822, bigger than the MGM Grand
MGM Grand Las Vegas
The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...
casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
The plan met with bipartisan hostility from the California State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
, and the Lyttons revised the figure to 2,500 slots. After failing to procure a compact based on this plan either, the Lyttons instead added 500 "video bingo
Bingo (US)
Bingo is a game of chance played with randomly drawn numbers which players match against numbers that have been pre-printed on 5x5 matrices. The matrices may be printed on paper, card stock or electronically represented and are referred to as cards. Many versions conclude the game when the first...
" machines to CSP, which, as Class II machines, do not require a state compacthttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/31/BAGKCE0QES1.DTL.
Public reaction and response
The Lytton Band's casino plan has been met with strong reactions. U.S. Senator Dianne FeinsteinDianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
(D-CA) in particular expressed opposition in 2003, citing concerns that "off-reservation gambling" would be a strain on local resources, aggravate traffic congestion and increase crimehttp://www.casinoman.net/gambling-news/article/dianne-feinstein-bill-would-delay-indian-casino.2043.asp. The mayor of San Pablo expressed "shock" at the plan in 2004 http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/19/BAG9O8AC731.DTL. California Assemblywoman Loni Hancock
Loni Hancock
Loni Hancock is currently serving in her first term as the representative of California State Senate District 9. The 9th Senate District currently includes Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Dublin, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Livermore, Oakland, Piedmont, Richmond, and San Pablo...
and mayor of neighboring Richmond also expressed displeasure at the plan, as did U.S. Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
(R-AZ) in April, 2005 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/06/MNGSCC3PS51.DTL. At least two other tribes, The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Mission Indians
Mission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
also voiced concerns about "off-reservation gambling" in 2005.http://indianz.com/IndianGaming/2005/006196.asp.
Tribal spokespeople countered in 2005 that the casino is "the final act in redressing the wrongs", the reparations
Reparation (legal)
In jurisprudence, reparation is replenishment of a previously inflicted loss by the criminal to the victim. Monetary restitution is a common form of reparation...
for the government's dissolution of their tribe's legal status and reservation lands. They say they will plan to use revenue from the casino to built modest homes, a community center, and a roundhouse, on 50 acres (202,343 m²) in the town of Windsor
Windsor, California
Windsor is an incorporated town in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 26,801 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:Windsor is located on U.S. Route 101 in the Russian River valley, about southeast of Healdsburg, California....
that they recently purchased. In addition, they say the casino would create 6600 jobs -- more than one job per slot machine -- and provide the city, county and state governments with 25 percent of gaming revenuehttp://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/03/12/news/state/18_20_473_11_05.txt. Based on the original, 5,000-machine plan, this amounts to $125 million a year to the state and $4.8 million a year to the city of San Pablo
San Pablo, California
San Pablo is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Paul V. Morris, and the current Vice Mayor is Cecilia Valdez. Current Councilmembers include Arturo M....
.