The Colorado River Indian Tribes evicted members of the Blythe Boat Club and their personal property May 23, according to a statement by the Western Bank Homeowners Association. The BBC purchased the property in 1947.

CRIT maintains its reservation also includes California lands. The BBC

property is prime real estate on the Colorado River.

A statement from the CRIT Office of Communications and Public Relations stated the BBC tenants were removed May 25 after negotiations broke down. The CRIT Tribal Court ruled for an eviction May 17 because the club was operating without a valid lease.

WBHA stated that a letter from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office dated Sept. 12, 2008, to CRIT Attorney General Eric Shepard referred to a memorandum outlining the Tribes’ belief they are eligible for Class III gaming in California.

The letter, which was written by the governor’s Legal Affairs Secretary, Andrea Hoch, stated, “As you know, the boundaries of the CRIT reservation lands in California, if any, have not been resolved and are still subject to dispute.”

WBHA believes the BBC is being evicted so the Tribes can take possession of the land and possibly build a casino.

The CRIT statement said, “Blythe Boat Club was an entity that not only paid its rent in a timely manner, but also one that made substantial improvement to the land, as promised. In addition, BBC made their facilities available for use to youth organizations and other public service agencies, at little or no cost, which benefited the community as a whole. In return, CRIT for decades, showed it appreciation by keeping the rent below market rates.”

According to the CRIT statement, the lease ended Dec. 31, 2004. Negotiations began on a new lease but the two sides could not agree on a rental amount. The BBC decided to go “rogue” by paying what they considered fair. According to WBHA, the Bureau of Land Management was requested by CRIT to do a cadastral survey - a survey to establish property line - of the disputed area. The survey would allow CRIT to attempt to secure a trust patent for the land. However, in order to obtain that trust patent, CRIT would have to remove all challenges by the residents.

Historical Dispute

CRIT cannot lay claim to California lands - California Indian reservations were formed under The Four Reservations Act by Congressional approval in 1864 precludes the existence of the CRIT Reservation.

Congress created the CRIT Reservation in 1865, within what was the Territory of Arizona.

In 1963, the first Arizona v. California case was decided when Special Master Simon Rifkind ruled that the CRIT Reservation’s boundary in the 17-mile disputed area was along the River, not at the base of certain bluffs, as argued by CRIT and the Interior Department.

Rifkind ruled CRIT’s water rights were limited to the reservation’s boundaries but this did not include the land in the disputed area.

On Jan. 17, 1969, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall issued a Secretarial Order three days before the end of his term, defining the upper two-thirds of the disputed area in California. Congress did not authorize the Secretarial Order.

In 1996, Special Master Frank McGarr in Arizona v. California III held, “the reasoning underlying the Secretarial Order is not sound. It misinterprets the definition of bank.” Until a court rules on the boundary issue, the dispute will not be resolved.