Early Skirmish in the Casinos Era

Angry residents along a stretch of U.S. 50 in the Sierra foothills between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe want to block construction of a $100-million gambling casino by the 281-member Miwok tribe. The Miwoks claim the casino will pump $122 million a year into the El Dorado County economy and create 1,500 new jobs. But the folks around Shingle Springs, near Placerville, aren’t impressed. They want their rural community to stay the way it is. The problem facing casino opponents is tribal sovereignty. But there might be a way for them to prevent the project.

The Miwoks originally wanted to build the casino on tribal lands on the north side of the U.S. 50 freeway but ran into trouble developing a right of way for customers to reach the site, so now they are buying 118 acres on the south side for the project.

Generally, federal law allows casinos only on traditional tribal lands. The Miwok tribe is appealing to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve the expansion, and residents are protesting. A bureau official says approval would be automatic if the casino were on the tribe’s existing property but that the bid to build on a new site “changes the equation in a big way.”

The decision might set a precedent for other isolated tribes that want to build casinos in more populated areas, far from existing reservations. The Bureau of Indian Affairs should consider this case carefully. If it approves the Miwok plan, it should emphasize that the exception is being made solely because the new property is adjacent to existing tribal lands.

The Miwoks say they want to be accepted as good neighbors, but, as one leader put it, “we’re not going to dry up and go away.” Tensions are high and could worsen. In this dilemma, the state should seek to mediate.

Californians overwhelmingly approved Indian casinos when they voted for Proposition 1-A last March. But not everyone favors gambling, especially in their backyard. Both the state and California tribes have a responsibility to do what they can to accommodate those residents who will bear the greatest impact of this new industry.