The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians has followed every local, state, and federal law and requirement put before it in its multi-decade process to restore its tribal status and lands that were lost in the 1950s. Opponents of the tribe and project are not happy with the laws, so now they want to change the rules and bend the laws with this terrible ballot measure — a clear abuse of the state initiative process for the benefit of a very narrow interest group. Proposition 48 was crafted and paid for almost exclusively by two competing casinos (fearing competition), a Wall Street hedge fund, and Cheryl Schmit of Stand Up for California, who praised the North Fork Resort and Casino project, before she started working for the opposition. "This is not reservation shopping. This is the state exercising its authority to locate gaming where it is wanted." More recently, Ms. Schmit even agreed that the North Fork tribe was essentially "landless," stating: "The North Fork tribe had no reservation, no land for itself until the federal government allowed them to pick these 305 acres at Madera." Just as Ms. Schmit undermines her own "reservation shopping" claims, there is no such thing as an "off-reservation casino."Get the Story: