It has been recently rumored throughout the Santa Ynez Valley that the Santa Ynez Band is planning to put their newly purchased 1,400 acres, in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley, into federal “trust” (outside the U.S. Constitution and local and state taxation and regulatory authority).

The rumored plan also includes increasing tribal members by lowering the amount of “Indian blood” it takes to be in the tribe, and that the 1,400 acres is already being divided up for more housing, more businesses and more gambling.
County government is not admitting any knowledge of this, but it is exactly what the Foxwoods (largest casino in the world) casino tribe did successfully, and these plans follow the blueprint done by many casino tribes throughout the U.S.
This is why, in 2005, P.O.L.O. and POSY filed the lawsuit against the federal government – to get standing for communities to object. Before that lawsuit, communities were ignored by their government. Because of your financial support, P.O.L.O. achieved standing and is attempting to end tribal land expansion. P.O.L.O. is again fundraising for the legal defense fund. Our continued success in the 2005 lawsuit is a huge defense to stop the 1,400 acres – and other property they buy – from going into “trust.”

Prior to our 2005 filing, P.O.L.O. researched other casino tribes. We uncovered what has been called the blueprint for expansion: use the gambling windfall to buy land and contribute to politicians; claim their entitlement to re-acquire their “aboriginal” territory and put it into “trust;” add more tribal members to justify their need for more land in “trust” to build more houses and develop more businesses; get additional federal subsidies (i.e. taxpayer money) to support the bigger tribe; develop any businesses they want (in some towns, there are now porn and cigarette stores) without any concern for, or input from, the surrounding community; use their hundreds of millions to influence local and state government for legislation to benefit them and so that crime and other harm to the community are ignored.

P.O.L.O.’s extensive research has uncovered many facts that seem fairly relevant: The people identified by an early-1900s lawsuit as having the legal right to live on the so called reservation are dead; the reservation may not be a reservation because the land was under state authority, the Santa Ynez casino tribe is based on a 1940 census roll that included people that had little to no Chumash or other Indian blood; the previous census roll had been changed and blood amount increased on many people, and this change is then reflected on the 1940 roll used to determine who would be in the tribe.

When the people of California voted to allow gambling on Indian land, they voted to help impoverished Indians and they placed trust in politicians and the BIA to be honest. They did not vote to make up tribes, or for their communities to be harmed and corrupted. In the Santa Ynez Valley, crime has increased more than 2,400% during the past few years.

In 2010, at the Chumash Casino alone there were 157 reports written by the Sheriff’s Department: 62 for drugs and intoxication, and the remainder for theft and other crimes. And those are only the situations where the Chumash Casino called the Sheriff’s Department. Any other business owned by non-tribal members (i.e. you and me) would have been closed down by authorities if it had just a handful of incidents in a year.

P.O.L.O. needs your continued financial support. Our latest filing to stop casino land expansion is under review by the BIA. To donate and to see that filing, go to our website at www.polosyv.org. Or mail a check to: P.O.L.O. PO Box 722 Los Olivos, CA 93441 P.O.L.O. is a 501 c 4 non-profit corporation.