No more land grabbing

Dearest Friends,

The time has come for needing your support in helping to bring about an awareness of a situation within my community that is near and dear to my heart. I am trying to help my community in gaining a voice against the process of how Indian tribes take land into tribal trusts and out of local and state control.

Currently, this transfer of land happens without the consent or voice of the local communities most affected by removal of land from local jurisdictions. It has happened and is happening all over the country and mostly because 1) people didn’t know how or where to vent their concerns or oppositions to it and 2) The flawed federal process that does not adequately weigh community concerns.

Bear with me as I try to explain this mess and the consequences. It’s not exciting, thrilling or fun yet our basic constitutional rights are at stake so this is very important. This issue is not about an “us versus them” situation - and if anyone thinks for a moment that this is racially motivated…you are sadly mistaken!

In my community, our local Santa Ynez Band of Indians (SY Band) has two applications pending with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that seeks to put their newly acquired land into federal title (trust). If lands are placed into trust, the Santa Ynez Band will not be required to comply with regulatory restrictions that other citizens and business owners in the community must meet and are exempt from state and local taxation.

Avoiding jurisdiction, regulatory restrictions and taxes from the local and state governments is the primary reason Indian tribes across the U.S. convert fee land into this federal trust title and land in trust is necessary for tribes to conduct Class lll (Nevada style) mega-gaming (casino) operations. Technically, there are no laws governing this process. The regulations on it can be found at CFR Title 25 Part 151 (yeah...for fun I googled it and read them all!). The 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) authorizes the Department of Interior (DOI) to create these regulations. Neither the President nor the Congress of the U.S. created or directly approved these regulations. The process is entirely the internal policy of the DOI and more specifically, the BIA.

So...the solution here is to raise our voices in this matter...and to make them loud! We need thousands of people to write, call & fax the people listed below who are in power over these issues. We need to take a stand on this NOW.

The proper action here is for you to contact the people in BIA & DOI – to let them know how flawed this policy is and that you demand local community involvement by way of better public hearings before any more land be taken into trust again. Demand the same environmental reports be done that you or I would have to do if we acquired or built the same thing. Demand third party non biased and comprehensive impact studies be done to include but not limited to traffic, crime, social, environmental, infrastructure, etc., before any more land is allowed to be placed into federal trust status. Demand that all agreements with tribal governments be reviewed as to their enforceability outside tribal courts – and that all agreements should include a “limited waiver of sovereign immunity” clause from the tribe.

We all need to be on a level playing field here – all playing by the same rules. We are all equal citizens of the United States of America!

Please email this note to everyone in your email address book, and ask them to do the same thing. Here is the list of people in the order of importance that need to be contacted.

Secretary of the Interior
Mr. Dirk Kempthorne Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240	Phone: 202-208-7351 Fax: 202-208-5048 E-Mail: exsec@ios.doi.gov

Deputy Secretary of Interior
Ms. Lynn Scarlett Department of the Interior 1849 C Street N.W. Washington DC 20240	Phone: 202-208-4203 Fax: 202-208-5048 E-mail: lynn_scarlett@ios.doi.gov

Southern California Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent
Mr. James J. Fletcher Bureau of Indian Affairs 1451 Research Park Drive STE#100 Riverside, CA 92507	Phone: 951-276-6624 ext# 223 Fax: 951-276-6641

Southern California Bureau of Indian Affairs Santa Ynez Application Processor
Ms. Beverly Sweetwater Bureau of Indian Affairs 1451 Research park Drive STE#100 Riverside, CA 92507	Phone: 951-276-6624 ext# 252 Fax: 951-276-6641

Get this message out & let’s get our voices back. Please do it. If you’ve been to the Santa Ynez Valley...you know how special a place this is. We would like to keep it that way and we certainly don’t want to become a casino town! In actuality, this is happening all over the country and I'm sure that you would not want this to happen in your back-yard. Regardless of where you live in the United States - everyone can sign this petition.

For more related information, click onto polosyv.org. to discover that this was just the tip of the iceberg!

Thank you for your support and time!

Sincerely,

Teri Harmon

Why should I care about this fee to trust process?

This nation was founded on the principal of assuring its citizens “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. To fulfill this pledge, the founders felt the need to restrict the powers of the federal government. One way in which this was done is using a process called “checks and balances.”

The government was divided into three branches, the Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Each branch was given unique powers and responsibilities to prevent any single part of the federal government from usurping the authority of another. Additionally, the Constitution further restricts federal authority by providing constitutional authority to state governments.

The fee to trust process removes land from local jurisdiction and places the land under federal authority, reducing the balances intended in the Constitution. Then federal agencies (BIA), using powers of questionable legal authority, allow these federal lands to be used and administered by quasi-sovereign tribal governments which often exhibit interests which conflict with local governments and their neighbors. This is happening in my town and to the residents of the Santa Ynez Valley. Tribal “governments” are now beginning to aggressively seek expansion ignoring local concern and the Federal government allows this inequity to continue.

Lands converted from fee to federal trust title are immune from zoning regulations and therefore it is impossible to guarantee that land placed into trust will be developed according to the established community approved guidelines. Saying it simply, once the land is taken into trust by a tribe, the tribe can do and build whatever it wants due to the tribe’s sovereign status. As a result of this horribly flawed process, I now have a casino within 2 miles of my home and a tribe that seeks to expand further by acquiring more land and applying to the BIA to take it into trust. Certainly, you can see the implications.

Why can’t tribes purchase and own land like everyone else?

Tribes and individual tribal members can purchase and own land in the same way as any other individual. Tribes seek the trust status to again avoid taxes and rules that you and I have to abide by. Casino tribes love the trust process as a ways to expand without rules or regulations! For shortness of breath, look at the Google results for a search about the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut and see for yourself what can happen when left unchecked! Our local tribe is patterning themselves after the Foxwoods Casino which is why we are greatly concerned.

I live miles away from any Indian lands. Do I need to be concerned about fee to trust transactions?

Absolutely! Indian land claims can arise anywhere. Become informed about what is happening in your community.