Scotts Valley Pomo Sue DOI Over Vallejo Casino Roadblock
Posted on: April 2, 2025, 07:13h.
Last updated on: April 3, 2025, 09:44h.
- Scotts Valley Pomo challenge DOI’s gaming reversal
- Tribe seeks to protect $700M Vallejo casino plans
- Rival tribes dispute Scotts Valley’s ancestral claim
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians is suing the US Interior Department (DOI) after it rescinded a Biden administration decision that rendered land owned by the tribe in Vallejo, Calif. eligible for gaming.
The tribe has been angling to build a $700 million casino resort in Vallejo for the best part of a decade. It believed the project was all systems go when the outgoing administration greenlit its trust application on Jan. 10, 2025.
Last week, the new administration put the decision on hold pending legal analysis of whether the land qualified for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The tribe is based around 100 miles away in Mendocino County. Its original reservation, the Sugar Bowl Rancheria in Lake County, was terminated in 1965 as part of a broader policy of federal termination.
In 1991, the tribe successfully regained federal recognition, but has been without an official reservation until the Vallejo parcel was taken into trust. The land currently remains in trust for the tribe, but the Gaming Eligibility Decision is subject to reconsideration, wrote Scott Davis, senior advisor to new Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, in a letter to the tribe last week.
‘But We Won’
On Tuesday, the Scotts Valley Band filed a federal lawsuit and an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to block the DOI’s decision to reconsider.
The tribe said the determination it received from the Biden administration “came after years of extensive administrative review and litigation.”
This is like trying to replay a football game after the final whistle has blown and the score has been posted,” said Scotts Valley Chairman Shawn Davis in a statement. “We won. The process is over. We shouldn’t have to replay the game because others don’t like the outcome.”
Scotts Valley’s filing asks the court to prevent the DOI “from inflicting further harm while the case proceeds.”
“The Tribe is confident that the law, the facts, and common sense are on its side,” it adds.
Rival Tribes Dispute Ancestral Claim
The casino project is controversial because it was opposed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, as well as by local Patwin tribes. These tribes dispute the Scotts Valley Band’s ancestral claim to the lands, which is a condition of gaming eligibility.
The tribes, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, sued the DOI just days before the department resolved to reconsider the decision. They dispute the Scotts Valley’s historical account of lineage linking it to the area, which they say is demonstrably historically Patwin.
The Scotts Valley Band denies this and has called the tribes’ lawsuit commercially motivated and “anticompetitive.”
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation operates the Cache Creek Resort around 60 miles from the Vallejo site, while the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation is a nongaming tribe.
A third tribe, the United Auburn Indian Community, which operates the Thunder Valley Resort just outside Sacramento, has also sued to challenge the Scotts Valley casino.
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Last Comment ( 1 )
Scotts Valley has been denied for 32 years to gain land in trust they have proved thier ancestrial ties to the land because of being blood related to members of Cache Creek. So are the opposing tribes concerned about ancestrial ties which is one of many court decisions they lost, yes they have been a road block for many years.Look the bottom line is numbers so here are some to ponder, there are 7.5 million living in the bay area with 22 million visitors 2 million from other countries in 2023 alone and thats not all ,Northern California has a total of 12.7 million living here ,Cache Creek haa approx. 3000 machines while Colusa carries approx.1000 while members of both getting revenue and housing for almost 30 years, is there not enough to go around? are they more deserving? The truth is in the numbers the truth is Scotts Valley has historical and ancestrial ties to that land and proved it in the 2nd highest court in the land and thats why the DOI is wrong and has no authority to deny this tribe who has suffered in poverty while Cache Creek and Colusa has enjoyed economic growth with Colusa becoming a top 10 land buyer/ owner the last 15 years and C.C. building massive homes along with a golf course while denying all but 50 members a share of the casino revenue so shame on all tribes opposing Scotts Valley and shame on the DOI for not doing thier homework before handing down thier decision after the 9th district court of appeals ruled in favor for Scotts Valley.