Gov. questions Lytton tribal plan to build in Windsor

An Indian tribe's controversial plan to build housing and a community center on the edge of Windsor is being challenged by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger's office, which is raising questions about the tribe's legitimacy.

The Lytton Band of Pomos' proposal to build 147 units of tribal housing on forested land just west of Windsor has provoked the ire of neighbors and prompted objections from the town and county officials.

But in the latest wrinkle, the governor's office is questioning whether the 270-member tribe even qualifies to have the land taken into federal trust, a necessary step for its Windsor project to go forward.

The governor's attorneys question whether the landless Indians who were part of the original Lytton Rancheria's formation in the early 1900s, north of Healdsburg, constituted a tribe, or were even the ones supposed to live there.

The dispute revolves around the tribal affiliations of the Indians who lived on the 50 acres that comprised the historic Lytton Rancheria, as well as the date the federal government recognized the tribe.

The issue of the legitimacy of some tribes, and by extension that of the Lytton Rancheria, was raised by a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year pertaining to a Rhode Island tribe.

The high court essentially ruled that tribes not recognized by the federal government before 1934 cannot create new reservation land.

“From the facts available to the Governor's Office, it appears that Lytton was not federally recognized until 1991 and not under federal jurisdiction in 1934. If these facts are accurate, then it appears that the Secretary of the Interior lacks the authority to take land in trust for Lytton,” Andrea Lynn Hoch, the governor's legal affairs secretary, wrote to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

A spokesman for the Lyttons disagreed, saying the tribe is indeed eligible to have the land taken into trust and is not impacted by the Supreme Court ruling.

“It's clear that those that are opposed to the project have made an attempt to rewrite history,” said Doug Elmets, a spokesman for tribe. “The BIA has assured the tribe that the (Supreme Court) case is not a problem for Lytton.”

But on Friday, a Bureau of Indian Affairs official said the agency has taken no stand on the controversy.

“We don't have an opinion at this time,” said Amy Dutschke, deputy regional director for the BIA pacific regional office. “We haven't taken a position, nor have we responded to the governor's office.”

The issue has the potential for spreading because about 60 California tribes were located on Rancherias, land bought for homeless Indians in the early 1900s, by the federal government.

But no recognition was extended to most of the tribes at the time.

Cheryl Schmit, director of gambling watchdog group Stand Up for California, said there are perhaps a dozen Rancherias in California that have questionable recognition from the federal government.

“You don't know until you research the background of each of these tribes,“ she said. “You need Indian agent documents of the day, the BIA determination ... who they were acquiring land for, individuals, or for a tribal group.”

The Lytton Band has experienced its share of controversy in recent years after it took over an old cardroom in San Pablo and converted it to an Indian casino in 2003.

The tribe was able to convert the 10 acres in San Pablo to a reservation as a result of a Congressional Act in 2000.

In 2004, Gov. Schwarzenneger approved expansion of the East Bay casino, but there was loud outcry from residents and it was shot down by the state Legislature.

In the meantime, the tribe was acquiring land along Windsor River Road to build housing for its members. The tribe has steadfastly denied that it any plans for a second casino there. The project includes a proposed 19,000-square-foot community center with a banquet hall, administrative offices and a small medical clinic.

The tribe also is proposing a 2,500-square-foot roundhouse for spiritual and ceremonial use and a similarly-sized retreat structure.

The tribe has taken the preliminary steps to have the 92 acres taken into federal trust with an environmental assessment for the project.

But the draft study released over the summer has been criticized by Sonoma County officials, the Town of Windsor and neighbors, who say there needs to be more in-depth study of the impacts, including the removal of more than 2,000 trees to make way for the development.

Critics say the Lyttons want to build roughly eight times the density of housing that is currently allowed under county zoning regulations on the property. Neighbors also express worry about traffic, water and wastewater impacts.

“What in the world is everybody afraid of?“ said Tribal spokesman Elmets. “It will be an outstanding project. It will have the look and feel of the community of Windsor that will allow the tribe to live collectively as they historically have done.”

But it's that tribal history that is subject to debate.

The governor's office noted that in the late 1920s, the federal government purchased 50 acres off Lytton Station Road for homeless Indians. But it wasn't until 1937 that two Indian families, who were not related to Dry Creek or Geyserville Indians, began to live on the land.

The governor's office argues that the United States could not have recognized the Indians living on the land prior to June 1934, the effective date of the Indian Reorganization Act which the Supreme Court ruling pegged as pivotal time in determining tribal recognition and the ability to take new land into trust.

In 1961, the federal government dissolved the Lytton Rancheria and distributed land to the members.

The Lytton Band said it “regained” federal recognition in 1991 as the result of court decisions in which the federal government acknowledged the termination was illegal and the promise to provide services to the tribe was not fulfilled.