Group's leader again exaggerates gaming plans in California

Thursday, December 1, 2011  

The leader of Stand Up For California! says most of the 137 land-into-trust applications in California involve gaming but her record on the issue is spotty.

Cheryl Schmit often claims tribes are looking casinos even when they have specifically disavowed it. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians recently updated one of its applications with a notice that the land won't be used for gaming but she is stirring opposition anyway.

"We understand there may not be plans for a casino at that site, but we're still concerned,” Schmit told The Palm Springs Desert Sun.

In 2005, Schmit claimed 40 California tribes were seeking off-reservation casinos. But when Indianz.Com compared the list with applications submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, there were only 6 tribes interested in gaming at the time.

Since February 2009, the BIA has approved 541 land-into-trust applications. Only three have involved gaming, Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in October.

Get the Story:
Tribe seeks to shelter land holdings (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 12/1)