About 400 people attended a public hearing on Wednesday to discuss an off-reservation casino for the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians of California.
More than 45 people spoke at the hearing and the majority favored the project, The Desert Dispatch reported. The opposition mainly came from two tribes -- the Chemehuevi Tribe and the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians. “You tell us that we’re stupid like we can’t think for ourselves,” Tina Johnson, a Los Coyotes woman said in response to the other tribes, the paper reported. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is taking comments on the environmental impact statement for the casino until September 14. Get the Story: