National | Politics | Trust

Santa Ynez Band Chair Vincent Armenta resigns after 17 years

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Chairman Vincent Armenta. Photo from Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

Vincent Armenta is stepping down as chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in California.

Armenta, who has led the tribe since 1999, is leaving to pursue a degree at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. He plans to start classes in a few months.

“I have always enjoyed cooking, but it’s been a lifetime dream to delve further into the culinary arts and enhance my talents in this area,” Armenta said in a press release. “When one of my sons attended CIA a few years ago, I thought that someday I would attend – and that day has come.”

Vice Chairman Kenneth Kahn will serve as interim chairman following Armenta's departure. The tribe will be picking a new leader through an election.

“Under Chairman Armenta’s leadership, our tribe has traveled further than any of us ever thought possible,” Kahn said. “He led our tribe from relative obscurity to being one of the most visible and dynamic tribes in the nation. I am grateful for all that he has done for our tribe and wish him the best.”

That success, which is largely owed to the Chumash Casino Resort, has come with a price. Local opponents, including the board of supervisors in Santa Barbara County, have filed numerous challenges to the tribe's land-into-trust applications, putting housing, cultural, economic development and other plans in limbo.

Even though the Bureau of Indian Affairs has survived the onslaught, the opposition continues. Congress is threatening to step in by passing H.R.1157, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians Land Transfer Act, a bill that would place a 1,400-acre site in trust.

Lawmakers slammed the county at a tense hearing last June and officials finally came to the table to discuss the situation. But talks have not proven fruitful and the board of supervisors even voted to appeal another land-into-trust application without advance notice to the tribe or the public.

The county, though, has said it will continue to talk with the tribe, according to news reports.

A timeline of Chairman Armenta's tenure, provided by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians:

December 1999 - Elected to Tribal Chairman
March 2001 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
July 2002 -Tribe broke ground on $157 million new casino project
March 2003 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
June 2003 - Chumash Casino Resort opened
May 2004 - Chumash Casino Resort Hotel opened
March 2005 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
November 2006 - Tribe purchased Royal Scandinavian Inn in Solvang
March 2007 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
April 2008 - Tribe published comprehensive Samala dictionary
May 2009 - Tribe refurbished and rebranded the Royal Scandinavian Inn as Hotel Corque and Meadows restaurant as Root 246
March 2009 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
April 2010 - Tribe purchased 1,390 acres known as Camp 4
March 2011 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
October 2011 - Highway 154 designated “Chumash Highway” by California Legislature
May 2012 - Tribe purchased Hadsten House in Solvang
May 2012 - Chairman Armenta testified before Congress on trust land
March 2013 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
May 2013 - Tribe launched Kitá Wines
February 2014 - Tribe and city of Solvang entered into a formal government- to-government relationship
June 2014 - Bureau of Indian Affairs placed 6.9 acres into federal trust
September 2014 - Tribe hired renowned architects Jones & Jones for museum
October 2014 - Tribe began construction on $175 million casino expansion
November 2014 - Tribe reached agreement with Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department to provide services to reservation
December 2014 - Bureau of Indian Affairs issued “Notice of Decision” on placing Camp 4 land into federal trust March 2015 - Re-elected to Tribal Chairman
May 2015 - Tribe reached agreement with Santa Barbara County Fire Department to provide services to reservation and beyond
June 2015 - Chairman Armenta testified before Congress on HR 1157
July 2015 - Tribe purchased 350 acres adjacent to Camp 4
August 2015 - Tribe and city of Lompoc established formal government-to- government relationship
September 2015 - Re-negotiated Tribal-State compact ratified by California Legislature