United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has been named in a complaint filed in the United States District Court Eastern District of California, with the city of Yreka challenging a decision to allow land to be taken into trust for the Karuk Tribe of California.
The complaint was prompted by the denial of the city’s appeal by the Department of the Interior’s Board of Indian Appeals, which was handed down on June 7. Administrative Judge Sara Greenberg issued the order affirming decision, responding to the city’s original objections when the request for appeal was filed.

The land in question is a 0.9-acre parcel where the Karuk Tribal Health Clinic now sits in Yreka, with the city objecting to the land being placed in trust on the allegations “(1) that there is no statutory authority for the acquisition because the land is not within or adjacent to the exterior boundaries of the Tribe’s reservation or within a tribal consolidation area nor does the Tribe have sufficient interest in the land to support the acquisition, (2) that the Regional Director’s discussion of the proposed use of the land is based on erroneous facts, and (3) that removal of the property from the City’s jurisdiction creates the possibility that the land will be put to uses which do not conform to the City’s codes and general plan, including gaming, and will increase conflicts between the Tribe and Appellants.”

Greenberg denies those claims in the order, stating that because the tribe owns the parcel in fee, it can be considered for acquisition in trust. She also denies the other claims by the city by stating that she believed there to be a lack of evidence showing an intent to use the parcel for gaming, among other issues.
The complaint filed by the city contains the concerns expressed in the appeal, including the question of how the acquisition will assist the tribe in cultural and social preservation or self-determination and self-sufficiency.
The city asks for relief with a judgement stating that the American Procedures Act (APA) was violated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) when it took the land into trust, to have the land taken out of trust unless and until the APA guidelines are met and an order permanently enjoining the BIA from taking the land into trust. 

 
The city filed its complaint on July 7, the day its appeal was denied, and also names Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echohawk, Pacific Regional Director of the BIA Dale Morris and Siskiyou County Assessor-Recorder Mike Mallory.

Copyright 2010 Siskiyou Daily News. Some rights reserved