Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
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The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria [1], formerly the Federated Coast Miwok, was officially recognized by the U.S. government on December 27, 2000, pursuant to an Act of Congress. California 6th District Representative Lynn Woolsey introduced the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act August 6, 1998 (105th Congress, 2d Session, H.R. 4434 [2], later H.R. 946 [3], ultimately H.R. 5528).
California Senator Barbara Boxer introduced S. 2633, a bill identical to H.R. 946, in the Senate May 25, 2000 [4]. The bill was ultimately passed and signed by President Clinton as Title XIV of Boxer's Omnibus Indian Advancement Act (Public Law No. 106-568).
Representative Woolsey's original bill would not have permitteds the FIGR to have an Indian casino. Senator Boxer removed that prohibition when she included Woolsey's bill in the Omnibus Act.
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[edit] Foundation
Greg Sarris, the current Tribal Chairman, is a college professor and author. Adopted as an infant by a Santa Rosa, California couple, he has written that he discovered as an adult that his paternal grandmother was a local Coast Miwok Native American.
Sarris began to organize what would become the FIGR in 1992, after Jeff Wilson, a Pomo Indian from Cloverdale, proposed to build an Indian gambling casino in Sonoma or Marin County. Today, the FIGR and Station Casinos Inc., of Las Vegas, Nevada, propose to build a resort hotel and casino project in Rohnert Park, just south of Santa Rosa. The site is about 50 miles north of San Francisco.
The proposed Rohnert Park casino is extremely controversial. Wilson's plan was an early example of what is now called "reservation shopping", and Sarris and the FIGR have been accused of doing the same thing. The Friends of Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria [5], a group funded by the tribe, is lobbying for the casino; and Stop the Casino 101 Coalition [6] opposes the project.
The FIGR has approximately 1000 members, governed by a tribal council of seven members, under a constitution adopted by vote of the members on December 14, 2002, and approved by the Secretary of the Interior on December 23, 2002. The membership reportedly includes people of both Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo descent.
The new tribe takes its name from the former Graton Rancheria. The address of the 15.45 acres that was the federally owned Graton Rancheria from 1921 to 1966 is 10091 Occidental Road, Sebastopol, California [Map [7]]. The site is about two miles northwest of the present town of Sebastopol, population 7,774 in 2000; and about 1.5 miles southwest of the hamlet of Graton, population 1,815 in 2000. The area is a few miles west of Santa Rosa, the largest of Sonoma County's ten cities and the County seat, population 147,595 in 2000.
The federal government established the Graton or Sebastopol rancheria in 1921, for the benefit of “Marshall and Sebastopol bands of homeless Indians”. But no one lived there in 1921, and by mid-1937, no Indians had occupied the land. Only a handful of people lived there between 1937-52, and just three men lived there in 1952.
The three voted unanimously in 1959 to terminate government ownership of the rancheria, and to receive the land as their own private property. The government completed transfer of the property to them or their heirs in 1966. The daughter and granddaughter of one of the men still live on the acre of land the government gave him. The granddaughter is currently Vice-Chair of the FIGR.
[edit] Tribal affiliation & membership
Prior to European contact, the residents of Marin and southern Sonoma Counties were bands of native Californians belonging to two linguistic and cultural groups: the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo. Chairman Sarris told Congress in 2000 that the 380 members of the FIGR were the descendants of a dozen survivors of that aboriginal population.
At a May 16, 2000 hearing before the House Resources Committee [8], he testified:
"Let me give you a little bit of background, everybody here, about the tribe. The Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria were called by the 1920's 1930's, Coast Miwok or Southern Pomo by linguists and anthropologists. At pre-contact time, we were approximately 5,000 people of many—several dozen bands of Indians who interacted as one group. Today we have 380 enrolled members. Of those members, 380 members, we are all descendants of 12 survivors."
And under the heading “Our People”, the current FIGR website says [9]:
“In 1992 the tribe was established as the Federated Coast Miwok; then upon restoration, renamed the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The tribe consists of both Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people. Our tribal ancestors existed for thousands of years before us with territorial lands which include all of Marin and southern Sonoma counties.
The Coast Miwok are from the areas of Novato, Marshall, Tomales, San Rafael, Petaluma and Bodega. The Southern Pomo people are from the Sebastopol area. Many of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people still live within their ancestral territories."
"We are still here... And live within this modernized world, determined to keep our traditions and culture alive. Our current membership is 1,000 strong. Each tribal member can be traced and is documented to the original 14 ancestors of the tribe. We honor our elders and also the children who are the next generation, and our future.”
Kevin Gover was Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs under Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt from 1996-2001. Gover also testified at the May 16, 2000 hearing, and his prepared testimony concluded [10]:
"I am pleased to report that after careful review of the information submitted by the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria (the successor name), the documentation shows that the group is significantly tied with the [sic] terminated tribe, Graton Rancheria the terminated tribe known as the Graton Rancheria. Therefore, we support their restoration of tribal status. As I stated earlier, the Administration supports H.R. 946 with certain amendments that I am submitting as a part of my statement."
Gover cited the reports of 1915 Special Indian Agent John J. Terrell, and stated that the Graton Rancheria was a band of Pomo Indians:
"Records in the possession of the directorate have identified the Graton Rancheria as a band of Pomo Indians, a general classification equivalent to Sioux in breadth. Sebastopol is an alternative name for the band and the Rancheria. The Rancheria was established in 1917.
There appears to have been two other bands in the immediate vicinity of Sebastopol, besides the Graton group that were being considered by the Special Agents (they considered more groups than eventually got land). It is not entirely clear who is being referred to in the reports. Terrell's correspondence refers to Indians at or near Marshall and Tomales Point, distinguishing them from the Indians at Bodega Bay. A 1927 report gives the population at Sebastopol (meaning the Rancheria) as 76, and distinguishes that group from those at Bodega Bay. A 1914 report identified 46 Indians at Sebastopol, and 34 at Bodega. As far as we can tell, a proposed rancheria purchase for Bedega was not completed."
Gover commented that H.R. 946 did not specify the "tribal affiliation" of the Graton Rancheria:
"Throughout the Act, there has been no mention of a specific tribal affiliation. John J. Terrell was a Special Indian Agent (sometimes titled as Inspector) assigned to locate lands for home sites for landless bands of California Indians under a series of Acts and arranged for the purchase of these lands. The first appropriation for landless California Indians was in 1906 (33 Stat. 333), with subsequent ones in 1908, 1914, 1915, yearly between 1916 and 1929, and in 1937 (House of Representatives 1953, 42).
Typically, he produced a report and a list of members of the band. Presumably this is what the bill refers to. There may be more than one census made of the group at about this time. Terrell began service in 1915, but was preceded by two other agents who may have also produced records concerning the band."
Gover's prepared testimony proposed several amendments to H.R. 946. As to membership, Gover said:
"Section 6 requires the Secretary to compile a roll for the Tribe. Section 6(b) lists the criteria for membership in the Rancheria.
This section is inconsistent with the governing document of the Constitution of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The membership provision of the Constitution of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria ties to the terminated Graton Rancheria."
His testimony continued: "In keeping with the doctrine of self-determination, determining membership is a responsibility of the Tribe."
Thus Sarris, Gover, and the FIGR website all generally equate Sarris' post-1992 Federated Coast Miwok and Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria with the Graton Rancheria, the surrounding area, and the entire pre-contact population of the area. It is clear that Gover intended the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to determine for itself who could be a member; and he understood that membership "ties to the terminated Graton Rancheria."
[edit] The Graton Rancheria
Almost 100 years of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) documents, obtained from the National Archives in San Bruno, California, make clear that there was never any Graton rancheria “tribe”, “tribal” structure, government, or political entity during the forty-five year history of the “Graton” or “Sebastopol” rancheria (1921-66). At no time in the rancheria’s history was there any government-to-government relationship between the U.S. government and/or the State of California, and any residents of the Graton Rancheria.
The “Graton” or “Sebastopol” rancheria was established in 1921, for the benefit of “Marshall and Sebastopol bands of homeless Indians”. Prior to 1921, the hilly and heavily timbered 15.45 acre property, consisting of 3 small tracts, was the private property of Joseph and Louisa Corda (as recorded in both a July 6, 1920 Department of the Interior letter, and in the records of the County of Sonoma, Book 310, page 180).
None of the early letters about the purchase mention residents on the property when the government bought it. In testimony before the House Resource Committee, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria Chairman Greg Sarris stated that “15.45 acres were purchased in Graton for our members. Seventy-five members moved on in 1920”.
But neither the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, nor its predecessor the Federated Coast Miwok, existed in 1920; nor can Sarris and the FIGR claim to speak for the “Marshall and Sebastopol bands of homeless Indians”.
More important, the record shows that no one lived there during the first 16 years after the U.S. government purchased the property (1921-37). Between 1921 and its termination in 1966, there were never more than three assigned residents on the rancheria--and one of them was a Karuk Indian, from a federally recognized tribe in Siskiyou County.
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1936 was enacted in order to begin restoring Native American tribes. Sacramento Indian Agency Superintendent Roy Nash wrote to Washington in 1936 to advise the Indian Agency that there were no Indians living on the “Sebastopol” (Graton) rancheria, therefore there was no one to vote on the Act.
The official IRA voting records from that period list no Coast Miwok, Graton or Sebastopol tribes. In field notes made upon a visit to the rancheria in 1952, Agency representative Leonard Hill confirmed that "This rancheria is not organized under IRA.".
Sacramento Indian Agency Superintendent Roy Nash, in a June 9, 1937 letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington, stated “The purchase was intended ‘for use and occupancy by the Marshall and Sebastopol Bands of homeless California Indians’, but said bands never occupied the tract, nor has any Indian ever lived on the tract from date of purchase up to now.”
Superintendent Nash asked, “Am I limited to Indians of Marshall and Sebastopol bands, or their descendants? I think decision should be that any landless Indians may be located on these unused California tracts.”
Andrew Sears, a native of the town of Sonoma, was given a land assignment on the rancheria on March 19, 1937, becoming the rancheria’s first resident. BIA Agent G.T. Nordstrom, in notes made during a June 24, 1952 visit to Graton rancheria, indicated that of those living on the rancheria, only Andrew Sears had been granted an assignment to live on the property.
Arthur Faber, an Indian Agency (BIA) employee, made application for his mother in 1945. Mrs. Laura Faber was then living in Lake County. Mrs. Faber was given an assignment in 1946, lived in a tent cabin on the property, and moved out in 1950.
A BIA document entitled “Graton Reservation (Sebastopol), dated “4-21-51”, states that there was “1 family, 3 people” living on the rancheria, gives the number of residents as “4”, and mentions only Andrew Sears as a resident.
At its peak in 1952, the property had a “House occupied by Andrew Sears... (and Fred Everill)”; a “tent occupied by Frank Truvido....”; three “small tent houses constructed by Arthur Faber for his mother....”, which according to Mrs. Faber had been unoccupied since 1950; and an “incomplete house occupied by Lawrence Bellman....” .
By 1954, the Eisenhower administration began to terminate forty-one small California federal land holdings (the “rancherias”) with the approval by vote of the occupants, and to convey them to the occupants' private ownership. In 1952, the records show that just three assignees occupied the Graton land: Frank Truvido, Fred Everill (a Karok Indian from Siskiyou County), and Andrew Sears. Lawrence Bellman by then was living in Inverness, in Marin County, and had not lived on the rancheria for more than a year. A Frank and Carrie Drake were also living in a cabin at the time, but had “no approved assignment”.
FIGR Chairman Greg Sarris, speaking to Congress on May 16, 2000, said: “In 1958 when they came by and did a census at the height of the harvest season, when no one was around, they found three families and with the Rancheria Termination Act, offered those three families or three designees, the right to buy the land, and, in essence, terminate the rancheria as trust land.... (and) without the vote or the consensus of the rest of the members.”
The December 14, 2000 edition of The Point Reyes Light, quoted Sarris as saying that “Congress...dissolved federal recognition of the tribe in 1958 after deciding wrongly that all the Rancheria’s members were dead”.
The record does not support Sarris’ statements. In fact, there were no other “members”; and official assignees and distributees Frank Truvido, Fred Everill and Andrew Sears voted 3-0 in 1959 to terminate the Graton rancheria, supporting conveyance of the land from federal to their private ownership. The September 17, 1959 referendum and the individual ballots show each man's signature.
Frank Truvido sent a very pleasant hand-written note to a Mr. Lowe in the Sacramento office of the BIA, which the BIA stamped as “RECEIVED Nov 20 1959 Sacramento” . Mr. Truvido wrote: “Graton Rancheria 10091 Occidental Road Sebastopol Calif. Mr. Lowe. Dear Sir I have written Mr. Scudder [Hubert B. Scudder of Sebastopol was the district’s Congressman] that we are in favor of the Termination Bill, and we a hopeing that this Bill passes this January. All the members of this Rancheria signed this letter to Mr. Scudder. Thank you Mr Lowe for doing your best for us indians. Sincerely yours, Frank Truvido Graton Rancheria Sebastopol, Calif”
Many field visits were made between 1951 and 1959, at various times of the year, to determine who lived on the rancheria property. In fact, it was after a 1952 field visit that it was learned that Frank Truvido did not yet have an official assignment.
It was Frank Truvido, Andrew Sears and Fred Everill who provided the field agents with the information used to determine who was living on the rancheria. There were only three "distributees" on that land, and hardly anyone else ever lived there at all. Anecdotal evidence from Sonoma County Native Americans supports the fact that there was never any “tribe” at the Graton rancheria--and no residents but Truvido, Sears and Everill when the vote was taken.
During the seven years after the distributees voted in favor of termination, no one challenged the Termination Act process. No one challenged the votes of Truvido, Everill and Sears to terminate the government’s ownership of the rancheria, and make it their private property.
Fred Everill and Andrew Sears died in 1960, leaving only Frank Truvido and his daughter living on the property. (Gloria Armstrong, Truvido's daughter, still lives in the original cabin, on the original acre the government gave her father. Her daughter Lorelle Ross lives there with her, and is Vice-Chair of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.)
Court records show that appropriate probate hearings were conducted to locate the heirs of Mr.Everill and Mr. Sears. (Each of these men had many heirs, and the bulk of the Rancheria property went for payouts to the lawful heirs and probate costs. Some of those heirs and/or their heirs may now be among the members of the FIGR.)
Each distributee or his heirs received about one acre of land, with a neatly-built cabin that was typical in rural Sonoma County at this time. The one acre plot and cabin was their own personal property, with 12.45 acres remaining as "community land", to be commonly owned by all three.
They received not only the rancheria land, but also improvements such as a septic system, a well, and modern bathrooms, kitchens, etc., for the rancheria houses. This work was done free of charge to the distributees. In addition, conservator arrangements were made for Frank Truvido, who was having difficulty managing his affairs.
Each distributee or his heirs received letters in February 1965, and again in December 1965, which advised them of “...the approximate value of the property received and that the property was tax-free at the time of distribution and further that from the date of recording at the time of recording in the county records the same taxes apply to the property as apply to property generally.” The transfer of land to private ownership was completed in 1966.
[edit] The FIGR and Gaming
At the May 16, 2000 House Resources Committee hearing, Michigan Congressman Dale Kildee commented at length on "retained sovereignty", and asked Chairman Sarris:
"I have some concerns about limiting the sovereignty in the area of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Mr. Sarris, have you—have other Indian tribes in California expressed any concern about the fact that you're willing yourself to not exercise that right under IGRA?"
Sarris replied, "There has been some concern, yes, from some tribes mentioned, but the majority of the tribes nonetheless support our move. In fact, we have letters of support from the neighboring Pomo Tribes.
Sarris explained that one of the provisions or stipulations of Proposition 1 A in California, is that tribes cannot establish gaming on newly acquired trust land, so they would not be allowed to find a larger tract of land for a gaming site.
"But more importantly for us, also part of the provision of Proposition 1 A is that non-gaming tribes can share, have profit sharing in the profits from the gaming tribes. But unless you're recognized, you cannot have access or we will not have access to the profit sharing with the gaming tribes."
Kildee continued: "Let me ask you this, because I really am anxious to recognize your sovereignty. If this legislation was silent about IGRA, would the California law still forbid you then to have gaming on that one acre of land or is that something lawyers have to sort out later?"
Sarris responded: "Well, technically no. I mean technically we could have gaming on the one acre but in fact we have made an agreement with the woman living on there that we would not do that on her one acre that she has retained. She has expressed that she did not want that in any way and only wanted her home—you know, there is a little home, her little home that she has retained there—used for historic and cultural purposes."
Kildee asked: "But that land would become your land and it would be sovereign land?
Sarris responded: "The one acre, yes, sir.
Kildee: "One acre would be sovereign land. ..."
Assistant Secretary Gover was concerned that if the FIGR renounced gaming on any future federal trust lands, other Indian groups might be required to do the same [11]:
"On the Graton Rancheria restoration, we do support the bill. I want to make that clear. We agree. This tribe was wronged when it was terminated. That wrong needs to be righted.
"Our only concern really is with the gaming provision, and it is not that we wish to force gaming onto a community that does not want it, including this tribe. If the tribe chooses not to game, more power to them. We have absolutely no objection. We support their right to make that decision.
"Our concern indeed is not even with this particular tribe. If they don't want gaming, that is fine with us. The problem is that what tends to happen in these matters, and frankly this bill is an extension of this phenomenon, is that if we put it in one restoration bill, it will be in every restoration bill, and we think that's wrong."
[edit] The proposed casino
A Santa Rosa Press Democrat story August 17, 2006 said:
"The dream of the Graton Rancheria tribe to open a Las Vegas-style casino-resort on the western edge of Rohnert Park is encountering delays. A federal environmental study of the 270-acre site that was expected to be released to the public this summer won't be out until at least December.
The study is holding up the tribe's application to transfer its land into federal trust and negotiate a state gaming compact, two hurdles that industry experts said could take years to clear. 'They have a lot of mountains to climb,' said Howard Dickstein, a Sacramento attorney who represents tribes seeking casinos. 'It's obviously three to four years off.'
Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris, who has said casino construction could begin next year, refused to comment. He said the tribe has 'gone dark' on the Press Democrat and would not respond to inquiries.
The tribe's partner and financial backer, Station Casinos of Las Vegas, also declined to comment. Station Casinos has said construction was on track.
The environmental study begun in February 2004 is required by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Its purpose is to analyze the effects of the casino, its proposed 300-room hotel and a performing arts center on such things as wastewater disposal, ground-water depletion, winter flooding and traffic.
The study is a prerequisite for the trust application and a compact with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A draft was prepared earlier this year and circulated among cooperating government agencies. It was returned with comments and is being processed for public viewing.
Chad Broussard, project manager for Sacramento-based Analytical Environmental Services, which is preparing the study for the tribe, could not pinpoint a single cause of the delay. However, he said the National Indian Gaming Commission has directed the company to consider 'more alternatives than most,' leading to a document that fills four thick volumes.
'Summer was never an out-and-out deadline,' Broussard said. 'It was a general estimate.' Brad Mehaffy, who is overseeing the study for the gaming commission, said a deadline of December is realistic.
When complete, the study will be released to the public for at least 60 days, during which time a hearing will be conducted to review environmental impacts and measures to resolve them, Mehaffy said. 'It's an investigation,' Mehaffy said of the study. 'You don't know what you're going to find until you go out there and look. It takes time.'
But casino experts said the delay is a sign that closer scrutiny is being given to the proliferation of casino applications across the state. And some predicted the casino opening could be postponed indefinitely."
[edit] Sources cited
(all documents listed below are from the National Archives in San Bruno, California, with the exception of Mr. Sarris' testimony before Congress, which is from the Congressional Record. None of the quotations above are copyrighted material.)
- Testimony of Greg Sarris, Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, At the Hearing Before the House Resources Committee on H.R. 946, the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act, May 16, 2000, The Congressional Record.
- Letter from E. B. Meritt, Ass’t. Commissioner, DOI, Office of Indian Affairs, to Walter W. McConihe, Supt., Round Valley School, dated July 6, 1920, AND Letter from E. B. Meritt, Ass’t. Commissioner, DOI, Office of Indian Affairs, to Walter W. McConihe,Supt., Round Valley School, dated March 19, 1921.
- Letter from E. B. Meritt, Ass’t. Commissioner, DOI, Office of Indian Affairs, to Walter W. McConihe, Supt., Round Valley School, dated July 6, 1920.
- Letter from Roy Nash, Superintendent, Sacramento Indian Agency to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated April 17, 1936.
- Document entitled “Tribal Organization-California Tribes”, 1936, showing IRA votes of all CA tribes voting.
- Field notes of Leonard Hill, Agency representative, dated August 21, 1952.
- Letter from Roy Nash, Superintendent, Sacramento Indian Agency to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated June 9, 1937.
- Letter from Roy Nash, Superintendent of the Sacramento Indian Agency to Mr. Andrew Sears, dated March 19, 1937.
- Letter from John G. Rockwell, Superintendent, Sacramento Indian Agency, to Mr. Arthur Ray Faber of Upper Lake, dated November 20, 1945.
- Letter from John G. Rockwell, Superintendent, to Mrs. Laura C. Faber of Upper Lake,CA, dated February 13, 1946.
- Field notes to “Area Director” from “Evaluating Officer”, dated August 27, 1952.
- Memo to Leonard M. Hill, Henry Harris, Jr., and Rita Singer from Harold J. Brodhead,dated March 22, 1954.
- Agency Field notes of visit to rancheria dated December 13, 1955.
- Letter from Frank Truvido to "Mr. Lowe" of the Sacramento Indian Agency, dated "Received November 20, 1959" .
- Letter dated June 21, 1961 from John W. Shipp, Project Engineer, Department of Health,Education and Welfare, to Mr. Leonard M. Hill, BIA, Sacramento,CA.
- Memorandum dated May 16, 1961, to Regional Solicitor from the Area Director, BIA.
- Graton Rancheria Completion Statement, M.G. Ripke, Acting Director, December 20, 1965.
