Thursday, 19 October 2006 01:49
County Appeals Land Determination For Plymouth Lands
Amador County has challenged the recent land determination decision issued for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians. That determination declared that the tribe is a Restored tribe and that the lands are restored lands. This has major implications for the tribe’s gaming endeavors on lands located in and around the town of Plymouth as restored tribes and lands have a different process for approval of their gamin establishments through the national Indian Gaming Commission. According to the press release the county has filed an appeal with the Federal Board of Indian Appeals within the Dept. of the Interior.
The appeal seeks a reversal of the Department’s determination which was based on a short legal opinion by an Associate Solicitor for the Dep’t., Carl J Artman. According to Amador County, the Department of the Interior’s determination that the band qualifies for a restored status, and therefore the lands is wrong both factually and legally. The County believes that it was deprived of a fair hearing by the Department’s Official and that those officials disregarded previous information about the relevant facts and law provided by the county to the National Indian Gaming Commission. Both the county and the Governor’s Office have expressed concern over this casino issue to the Interior Department. The result of this determination, under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, is that local entities, including the Plymouth and the County.
