As reported by the One Bakersfield: “For the first time since the G.O. Committee took on the role of vetting tribal gaming compacts negotiated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor’s lead negotiator on this issue, attorney Daniel Kolkey, will appear to answer senators’ questions about the deal, including whether or not the proposal is in keeping with the governor’s own proclamation on off-reservation gaming.
“The Big Lagoon band had been locked in a legal battle with the state for six years over not being allowed to build a casino on their ancestral land, which was considered too environmentally sensitive. Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians Schwarzenegger struck a deal wherein Big Lagoon would build its casino in Barstow alongside a casino proposed by the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, whose ancestral land is also more than a hundred miles from the proposed casino resort site. Opponents call the tactic of seeking federal recognition for non-ancestral lands to use for gaming ‘reservation shopping.’?”
