President Trump’s administration champions tribal rights by reconsidering the wrongful decision that the Biden administration had made by approving a land grab that threatened the integrity of the Patwin tribes.
During the last days of the Biden administration, a brazen land grab was approved by the Democrats. According to Breitbart, the administration had handed over ancestral lands belonging to the Patwin tribes in Vallejo, California, to the Pomo tribe, the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
The Patwin tribes are recognized descendants and protectors of that land, while the Pomo have no historical ties to the area. Breitbart reported that under oath, Scotts Valley had admitted their historic villages are nowhere near Vallejo and that they had exploited a loophole in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for the sole purpose of building a casino.
Protect Tribal Homelands, a coalition of tribes, called out the Biden administration’s decision, saying that it “ignores statutory and regulatory requirements, and the serious concerns of state and local officials and other tribes.” The decision also violates several policies, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA).
This isn’t the first time that Scotts Valley attempted a land grab. In 2012 and 2016, the land grab was rejected by previous Democrat administrations, and in 2019, President Trump’s first administration rejected the proposal. During the final days of the Biden administration, the Democrats decided to reverse President Trump’s decision and did not include tribal voices in the decision-making.
In a press release announcing that California tribes will challenge the approval, Yocha Dehe Chairman Anthony Roberts wrote, “It is heartbreaking that the Biden Administration chose to spend its final days approving a megaproject on our sacred Patwin homelands without ever consulting our Tribe.”
There is hope for the Patwin tribes and tribes across America, as President Trump’s administration, with Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, has issued a notice of intent to reconsider the decision. According to Breitbart, the Trump administration expressed concern that the evidence submitted by the Patwin tribes was not considered when approving the land grab.
