Although the decision isn’t final until July 3, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals ruled to annex 6.9 acres of tribally owned land in Santa Ynez and to place it into trust with the federal government.
The decision follows nearly a decade of appeals and legal battles regarding the initial Bureau of Indian Affairs decision to place the land into trust in 2005. Tribal Chairman Vincent Armenta made the announcement on June 5 from the 6.9 acres of dry, gopher-hole-covered field adjacent to the tribe’s casino.
Placing land into trust with the federal government makes it part of the tribe’s reservation. A museum and cultural center are planned for the site. Those buildings will include different sections designed to showcase Chumash traditions and daily life, a language lab, dance and music, tribal events, and rock art. The tribe included its plans for the land in the fee-to-trust application it filed with the Bureau in 2000.
“We intend to build what we said we were going to build when we filed the application,” Armenta told a small crowd of Central Coast journalists. “I’m sure that local groups will try to appeal this and take us to federal court.”
Armenta is probably correct in his assumption. The federal court is the last avenue groups can take to appeal the decision. The Preservation of Los Olivos (POLO)—who appealed the 2005 decision—sent a statement to its email subscribers on June 9 that said it would make its feelings on the matter known in federal court.
The tribe’s first fee-to-trust application was on the 6.9-acre plot, said Sam Cohen, the tribe’s government affairs representative. Since then, the tribe has filed one on a 5.8-acre plot of land, which now holds the tribe’s gas station and convenience store, and most recently, one for the 1,400 acres known as Camp 4. Neither of those applications has gained approval.
“We’re pushing through the fee-to-trust process [on Camp 4],” Cohen said, adding that the Bureau of Indian Affairs made a finding of “no significant impact” on the environmental impact statement the tribe filed with respect to housing plans for the property. The public has until June 30 to submit comments on the decision.
Chairman Armenta told the Sun that being able to finally bring the 6.9 acres into trust gives him confidence that the same decision will be made for Camp 4.
“I knew it was going to happen, I just didn’t know when,” Armenta said. “I’m extremely encouraged, not simply because it came into trust, but [POLO and other opponents’] arguments had no merit and they’re using the same argument on the 1,400 acres—which has no merit.”
This article appears in Jun 12-19, 2014.