Napa County Officials Hail Fed Court Ruling In Indian and Casino Case

Statement submitted from the County of Napa:

The Napa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) hails a federal court ruling Monday evening that keeps casino style gaming out of Napa.

The litigation stemmed from the 1959 termination of the Alexander Valley Rancheria, which was located in Sonoma County. A modern day group claiming to be descendants of Mishewal Wappo Indians of Alexander Valley sued the federal government in 2009 seeking status restoration and placement of unidentified Napa County lands into federal trust, exempting such lands from all local and state regulations.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila agreed with arguments previously made by Napa and Sonoma counties, and also advanced by the federal government, that the Wappos waited 40 years too late to bring its lawsuit when the statute of limitations is only six years.

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Since 1968, Napa County has been on the forefront of planning for the preservation of agricultural lands and residents have spent vast amounts of time and energy to protect the agriculture preserve while tracts of farmland in other parts of the Bay Area have been urbanized.

For any entities or businesses to come into this county and build a casino or other economic developments because they are privileged and exempt from local regulations would, in essence, destroy years of efforts by county residents who have planned for and aggressively protected the agricultural preserve.

Napa County officials expressed gratitude to the federal government for its continuing efforts to scrutinize and verify all historical records of modern groups wanting to become federally recognized Native American tribes and taking Napa lands into trust.

Congressman Mike Thompson has been taking the laboring oar in this effort. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has also been a consistent advocate for the county’s position.

“The end result of this ruling is very important because it ensures local lands continue to be protected and upholds the agricultural preserve and watershed lands that we hold so dearly,” said BOS Chair Diane Dillon. “It also makes certain that the voice of Napa County residents is heard and their years of efforts are not dismissed.”

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