Members of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, a California-based federally recognized tribe, will vote for their new councilors on Saturday, October 3. Many believed that the results from the election will contribute to tribal and state official finally making peace with each other and reaching an agreement for the relaunch of the shuttered Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino.
However, people with knowledge of the matter seem less confident in this turn of events. The reason for this is the fact that factions of the California-located tribe have been continually bickering instead of burying the hatchet and proving to federal authorities that they can establish a stable tribal government.
The ongoing disputes resulted in the interim Chukchansi council meeting the National Indian Gaming Commission last month. The two parties discussed the future of the closed gambling property, which was expected to be reopened in September, but it was eventually announced that the casino would remain shuttered for an indefinite period of time and will most definitely not be relaunched prior to the Saturday election.
Last November, the National Indian Gaming Commission and the California Attorney General decided that the tribal gambling venue should be shut down after violent encounters between rivaling factions led to the evacuation of workers and customers.
Michael Odle, spokesman for the National Indian Gaming Commission, said in September that a stable government among the most important factors that would impact federal officials’ decision on whether to enter an agreement with the tribe to reopen the casino. He also pointed out that the tribe will have to provide assurances that no further conflicts will take place within the premises of the gambling venue.
After last month’s meeting, the commission said in a letter that it finds alarming the fact that the tribal council itself violates the tribe’s gambling-related laws while at the same time negotiating the terms of a possible agreement with federal officials. Commissioners said that those concerns will inevitably influence the Division of Compliance’s decision on whether it would recommend to the tribe’s chairman to enter into an agreement that would authorize the relaunch of the hotel and casino resort will be entered eventually.
As it seems, more details will be revealed after the October 3 election.
