Research is Essential to Effectively Oppose Fee to Trust for a Casino Presented by Butch Cranford plymouthbut

1. Research is Essential to Effectively Oppose Fee to Trust for a Casino Presented by Butch Cranford plymouthbutch@hotmail.com

2. Effectively Opposing a Casino Requires Research ! • I am not a professional researcher - I am a concerned Citizen • My primary focus has been issues related to Fee to Trust for Gambling since 2003 • What you will hear today is based on that experience • My experience includes working with members of other Community groups, Government Officials, CERA Conference Attendees, & CERA • I learn each & every time I am in the company of this group • If a casino is proposed in your community, one of the first challenges you will face is: • “Why are you opposed to a casino?” • Research is necessary if you want to effectively oppose a proposed Casino • There are valid personal, religious, & / or moral reasons for opposing a casino • Personal, religious, or moral reasons are not considered by government decision makers • Now, why are you opposed? • What do you know about the Fee to Trust process, Indian Gambling • or Federal Indian Policy? • What do you know about the proposed casino or the Tribe? • What do you know about the negative impacts a casino will have on your community? • If the answers to these questions are NOTHING or VERY LITTLE • MAYBE YOU NEED TO DO SOME RESEARCH

3. What Is Research ? • Research is the careful, systematic, patient study & investigation • in some field of knowledge to establish facts, or principles. • You must identify WHAT facts or principles you need to establish • Determine WHO may have the information or knowledge of the information • (City, County, State, Federal Agencies, Private sources, Universities, other communities, tribes, individuals etc) • Determine WHERE the information is located (Local, City, County, State, Federal Offices or in Remote Locations, public records, Public & Private Libraries archives of various types & of course on the Internet) • Learn HOW to access or obtain the information (Internet, copies, FOIA, Archives, public meetings, Conferences etc.) • Be prepared to explain WHY you need the information • Lastly decide HOW you will use the information & then USE it

4. Five (5) Research Areas / Fee to Trust for Gambling • 1. The reasons to oppose a casino require research • EconomicSocialEnvironmental Legal • Much research is completed & data & reports are readily available. • Professor John Kindt & other experts have published extensive reports on the serious negative impacts of casinos on local economies & the social structure of communities. • Environmental issues will require research on a project by project basis but there are issues common to casinos. (noise, traffic, crime, etc.) • A basic understanding of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) is essential. CERA has a NEPA tool to assist in this area. • Information on legal issues, pending suits & Court decisions related to Fee to Trust for gambling & Federal Indian Policy are readily available to any researcher. • 2. Indian Casino Gambling is authorized & regulated by laws, regulations, court decisions, & legal opinions requiring research related to your particular situation or issue • 3. The Fee to Trust process for Indian Gambling is administered & regulated by laws, regulations, court decisions, & legal opinions • requiring research to understand • 4. The acquisition of land in trust is the Tribes objective & researching the history of the land / property is required • 5. Knowing the history of the tribe, as we learned in Carcieri, is important.

5. What Next? • It seems so overwhelming & complicated ! • Where do you start? What do you do first? Who do you contact? • You are not the first person or community faced with this issue • Good News !! - A lot of research has been done. • There are reports, case files, reams of documents, & most importantly other people waiting for you to find & use them. • Keep in mind you cannot find or learn or understand everything overnight • Remember: Research is the careful, systematic, patient study & investigation in some field of knowledge to establish facts, or principles. • First, learn all you can about the proposed casino / project / Fee to Trust Application. • The tribe or investor will provide a number of documents that define & explain the project. (Usually a limited description) • Those documents are a good place to begin / they are often filled with errors, false, misleading & supportable statements

6. Reasons to Oppose a Casino: • There are many serious negative economic, social, & environmental impacts from a casino which are well researched, documented, published & available • Tribal / Investor documents are often not well researched & can be very misleading • Tribal / Investor documents present information that has little or no basis in fact • Tribal / Investor documents include data that is biased or simply manufactured to promote the casino as economically & socially beneficial to the community • Tribal / Investor documents will understate the negative environmental impacts • Data collected over the past 30 years indicates that casinos negatively impact. The communities where they are located economically, socially, & environmentally • Data from independent researchers differs greatly from research & data paid for & presented by tribes / investors attempting to build casinos • Sources for Our Research • The Internet - start Googling & Binging • One of the premier casino researchers is Professor John Kindt. • Professor Kindt's books, reports, & journals are excellent reference materials. • Websites such as Focus on the Family are linked to studies & data. • Contact with local, regional, national groups such as NCIP, SCPTA, CERA.

7. Fee to Trust for Gambling Research: • There are two separate & independent processes which can be confusing. The Fee to Trust Process The process for approving Indian Gambling • Regulations for the Fee to Trust Process are found at 25 CFR 151 & a Fee to Trust paper by Larry J. Scrivner is helpful. • The Office of Indian Gaming's Checklist for Gaming Acquisitions Gaming Related Acquisitions & IGRA Section 20 Determinations is helpful. It is based on 25CFR151 • It has been our experience that while these two documents provide an outline for the Fee to Trust process the BIA & DOI may not (do not) follow them. • The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act governs Indian Gaming (Chapter 29 of Title 25) • The NIGC Website is a good source for IGRA related information & documents. • Gambling Laws, Regulations, Tribal State Compacts, Management Contracts, Gaming Ordinances & Lands Opinions are all available on the NIGC website. • NIGC Regulations pursuant to the IGRA are found at 25 CFR Part 151 • The BIA, NIGC, & DOI do not follow the law or their own regulations in the administration of the fee to trust process for gaming.

8. Fee to Trust for Gambling Research:(cont'd) • Sources for Our Research • CERA & other CERA members • The Internet • Title 25 & 25 CFR • Solicitor Opinions • NIGC Lands Opinions (NIGC.org) • IBIA Cases (Interior Board of Indian Appeals) • Court Cases • Inspector General Reports • Government Accounting Office Reports • Office of Indian Gaming • Department of the Interior • Memos from the Tribe's Attorneys to the Regional Director

9. What Our Research About the Land Revealed • The tribe's claim they owned the 12 parcels to be taken into trust were false • The tribe did not own a single one of the 12 parcels • The tribe's new claim that they had options to purchase the land were false • The tribe's investor IKON now Valley View Packing has options to purchase the 12 parcels • Almost nothing the Tribe claimed about the land was factual • This alleged “landless” Ione Band actually owns 40 acres near Ione • Sources for our Research: • Amador County Recorder's Office • Amador County Assessor's Office • Documents from the Historic Ione Band • Documents from the BIA & DOI • You can do this research yourself or you can also hire a title company to do a title search if you wish. If someone in your community has worked in Real Estate they may do a title search at no charge.

10. History of the Ione Band of Miwok • They are not an IRA Tribe & did not vote on the IRA in 1934/35 • The Indians at Ione are from several different tribes • The United States has never purchased any land for the Ione Band • The United States has never held any land in trust for the Ione Band • They acquired 40 acres near Ione in 1972 via quiet title in the Amador County Superior Court • Federally Recognized in 1972 but not put on the list of recognized tribes • 1972 Recognition reaffirmed in 1994 by Ada Deer & put on the list of recognized tribes • Their ownership & occupation of 40 acres was critical to the 1994 reaffirmation. • The fraudulent group proposing to build the casino is not the Ione Band of Miwok. • The Regional BIA Director & several members of her family are members of this fraudulent group created by BIA Pacific Regional Office Sources for our Research: • Documents received from the Historic Ione Band living on the 40 acres near Ione. • Documents from BIA, DOI, Office of Acknowledgement, the Solicitor & EPA • Title & Tax records & documents from the Amador County Recorder & Assessor's Office. • Documents from the EPA proving the “landless” Ione Band applied for & received grant monies to improve the 40 acres owned by the Ione Band • Documents from the Federal Court & the Amador Superior Court. • Comprehensive Study done by Researcher Professor Stephen Dow Beckham • Census Records • Documents from National & Regional Archives

11. Fee to Trust Application Research • No FTT Application until Nov. 2006 even though the tribe referred to a Fee to Trust Application continuously from 2003 to Nov. 2006 • A “draft” Fee to Trust application was obtained in May 2005 via our Congressman • The November Fee to Trust Application was based on a Sept. 2006 Restored lands opinion • The restored lands opinion was challenged in Federal Court by NCIP, the County & State • The suits were dismissed / the Restored Lands Opinion was not a final decision by the DOI • The restored lands opinion was so filled with false statements it was withheld from public comment on the FTT Application with more than 20 other documents • The Regional Director did not follow the FTT procedures in the Office of Indian Gaming Checklist for Gaming Acquisitions Gaming Related Acquisitions & Section 20 Determinations • Former Deputy Assist. Sec. Indian Affairs, Aureen Martin was employed by the law firm representing the Ione Band & worked to facilitate processing of the application • The BIA employee who conducted the 2003 / 04 Scoping Sessions for the Ione Band went to work for the firm that produced the Tribes Draft Environmental Impact Report • The Ione Band's Fee to Trust Application processed by a Tribal Fee to Trust Consortium within the Pacific Regional Office whose job was to “approve” Fee to Trust Applications • This Consortium was not known to or approved by the Central Office in D.C. & in 2006 the IG reported the Consortium was a “conflict of interest” • After receiving a well documented & fact based request from NCIP in Oct. 2008 to withdraw the restored lands opinion, Solicitor General David J. Bernhardt withdrew & reversed the opinion in Jan 2009 because it was WRONG • This withdrawal & reversal by Solicitor Bernhardt has halted processing of the FTT Application & effectively stopped the proposed casino

12. Fee to Trust Application Research cont'd • Sources for our Research: • United States Congressman • The Federal Register • Memos & Documents from the BIA / DOI / NIGC • Briefs & Court Documents from the Muwekma Ohlone case in the D.C. District • A FOIA through a law firm which produced more than 1500 pages of documents – More effective than our FOIA's • The Fee to Trust Application • The Restored Lands Opinion • Documents from the land research • Memo from the Tribe's Attorney to the Regional Director • The heavily redacted IG Report on the Fee to Trust Consortium obtained by POLO / POSY as part of their case in Santa Barbara. • Records from Plymouth City Hall • We are unable to obtain the Bernhardt opinion that found the restored lands opinion written by former Secretary Of Indian Affairs Carl Artman was WRONG

13. How to Use Your Reseach ! • Inform & Educate your local community & City, County, & State Officials • Inform & Educate local & State officials, the U.S. Congress, the Inspector General, the DOI, BIA, & NIGC. • Should it become necessary use it to litigate Based on the the Research we have done: • We can support every allegation & charge we have made about the unethical & illegal activities engaged in by the Tribe, the BIA, the DOI, the Solicitor, & the NIGC in the administration of the Ione Band's Fee to Trust Application for Gambling. • We can prove that either former Secretary of Indian Affairs, Carl J. Artman, made false & misleading statements in the restored lands opinion OR • the DOI presented briefs containing false & misleading statements to the D.C. District Court about the Ione Band in the Muwekma-Ohlone case before that court. • I believe Solicitor Bernhardt withdrew the Artman Opinion because it is not defensible in Court due to its deficiencies related to the facts & the truth. • I now believe Tribes, the DOI, the BIA & the NIGC will do what is necessary to approve casinos where no casinos can legally be approved including subverting & ignoring their own Regulations & the LAW. • Certainly a Betrayed Trust / I wish it were otherwise !