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Crisha Carlos
Arthur Scott
Miwok Identity
19 November, 2012
The Rohner Park Resort Casino
The subject of Indian Casinos has always intrigued me because I understand that Native
Americans follow a culture that does not prepare them with the skills that will make them easily
marketable in modern days work market. Therefore, it is understandable why many Native
Americans struggle financially and are forced to live a life in poverty. However, Indian Casinos
accrue a great deal of revenue, especially in the state of California where the establishment of
casinos is prohibited. The fact that Indian reserves are sovereign nations allows them to legally
have casinos on their land and by pass California law. Limiting the establishment of casinos for
only Indian reservations in the state of California helps to ensure a lot of business for these
casinos. As this is so, it is quite interesting that the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are
now in the process of building a casino in Rohner Park.
It must be exciting for the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to be opening up a new
source of revenue. I however question as to why this casino is only being built now? Tribes such
as the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation established the Cache Creek Resort Casino technically in
1985, because in 1985 Cache Creek was just a humble bingo hall. Also, the United Auburn
Indian Community established Thunder Valley Resort Casino in 2003, providing another specific
example of a well-known, successful resort casino in California. Although Thunder Valley is a
little more recent, the Rohnert Park Resort Casino is still a delayed more than a decade. This
delay was explained by Gene Buvelot, the Tribal Treasurer for the Federated Indians of Graton

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Rancheria. He states that there are pros and cons to opening a casino and that the tribe even
tried to venture into other forms of businesses before finally deciding to establish a casino.
Some examples of other ventures they had tried to start were: an automobile industry, organic
farming, and even creating their own vineyard. But with Indian casinos haven proven to be a
great source of income for the Indian people, why would anyone bother trying other ventures
first? Well, Buvelot mentioned that the problem that most tribes face with having such revenues
is that the money causes corruption to break out in the government. The revenue accrued would
not always help to funds community programs but instead was abused for personal uses.
The Bureau of Indian Affair (BIA) contributes government funds to many Native
Americans programs. Buvelot, who in the years 2001-2002 served as Grant Project Director for
the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to help grant-aid to tribal governments, states that there are
many opportunities for Native Americans to apply for government grants. Such grants were
used to establish the tribal infrastructure once it was finally restored to the Federated Indians of
Graton Rancheria in 2000.
Buvelot also concluded that, Once a tribe establishes a casino for funding they become
very dependent on that money. With all that anticipated revenue what does the tribe intend most
of that money to go towards? Well, the overall goal is to provide tribal youths with higher levels
of education. The skills that the natives will acquire by achieving higher levels of education will
make them more marketable in the job market and therefore offer them more opportunities to
become independent and financially secure. However, as Buvelot specially mentioned, when the
revenue for the casinos start coming many students begin to drop-out because for one, their
motivation to graduate decreases because they already have money; secondly, the money that
should have been used as their scholarship, instead just goes into their pocket. This is the kind

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of corruption is what the tribal leaders of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are trying to
avoid with an established constitution. This constitution clearly explains that students receiving
scholarships will only receive that money while enrolled. The Federated Indians of Graton
Rancheria currently offer $150,000 in scholarship money for Native American students, not
necessarily tribal members, who are attending the College of Marin. Aside from education
programs the revenue is expected to help further fund tribal programs such as: a housing
program, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, transportation programs, the Environmental Protection
Agency, temporary job programs and training, hardship funds, and a cultural arts resource
program.
Buvelot also stated that their constitution dictates that 60% of the revenue will be
allocated to the tribes infrastructure and the remaining 40% will go towards tribal members in
the form the tribal programs previously mentioned. Therefore, that 40% does not come to the
tribal members in the form of cash; it is directly forwarded to programs funds.
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria did a great job in being patient enough to
ensure that the Rohnert Park Resort Casino will be established the way they want it to be. Being
that the Rohnert Park Resort Casino will be the only casino in the Sonoma County, the chances
of its success is very high. However as Buvelot explains, the tribe was not willing to let just any
big name come and partner with them; so they laid down their conditions and stuck by them
even though all but one name gave up on them. The Stations Casino was the only gaming
company that was willing to abide by their terms and conditions. These terms and conditions
made by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria stated whoever they partnered with would
provide them with one-hundred percent control over the resort casino and two million dollars for
start-up costs. Such demands are what probably drove the majority of the other potential partners

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away, especially because it is unlikely that companies would agree to these terms that only allow
them to have one representative serve as a powerless consultant.
To expand more upon the building plans of the Rohnert Park Resort Casino, the casino is
supposed to be 60 to 70 acres large, with a hotel, conference center and spa. The project is
expected to open in 2014. Also there is talk about opening up a shopping mall near the work cite
of the casino, hopefully the establishment of the mall will help increase the amount of people
that will be drawn to that area because at the moment it just a construction site for that one resort
casino.
Research found on Rohnert Park Resort Casino, the Federated Indians of Graton
Rancheria, and especially Gene Buvelot has taught me a lot about the native culture. To elaborate
more upon the history of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria tribe, it would be best to
focus first on their hardships with the land disputes. In the 1500s the Native Americans from the
area lost their land to the Spaniards led by Sir Francis Drake. Since then the natives became
Homeless Indians, and so they remained from the 1850s until 1906, when Congress finally
initiated the set up housing programs. Finally in 1923 the tribe was established as Graton
Rancheria, a reservation comprising of 15.5 acres. At one point however during a time of season
when the majority of the tribal people went away from the main land, some government
representatives approached a few of the elderly tribal people who were left on the reservation
and offered them the opportunity to transfer the land that was reserved for them by the
government to their own personal names; as to make the land truly owned by them. The
transference of that land from government reserve into privately owned property, allowed for the
government to charge a property tax. Since, Native Americans did not have a stable income they
could not all afford that tax, thus resulting in the need for the Native Americans to file for

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bankruptcy and allow the government to repossess the land. Eventually all parts of the land was
returned to the government all but one patch of land. Yet when Bill Clinton came to office in
1993 he made it a mission to restore all the land back to the Native Americans and in 2000
Clinton was able to so. He restored that land back to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
and in the restoration contract it was specifically stated that the land shall be put into a trust!
Shall is important term because it makes the contract less debatable unlike the term will, which
can be considered debatable. However the funding that was initially promised in order to
maintain the upkeep of the land was later cut due along with many other budget cuts made by the
George W. Bush administration.
The struggles that the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria has faced in order to keep
their land was a long battle, starting from the 1500s when Sir Francis Drake began colonizing in
California until 2000 when President Bill Clinton finally made matters official. Such
perseverance to gain ownership of land, that originally their own by them anyways, proves the
strength and tenacity that the Native Americans to preserve the essence of their culture. Native
Americans do not intend to destroy the chances of their youths survive in modern society by
strictly teacher them their culture but rather they simply want to ensure that the essence of their
culture is not forgotten. The culture no longer has any pure blooded natives, but they are still able
to preserve the essence of their culture. The fighting spirit of the Native Americans is not unique
to only their kind, all people are particular about their cultures and the government should no
place the American people in a position that would compromise that culture. Therefore it is
important for me as a person who hopes to be placed in a position of influence in government, to
understand and respect the values of culture to the diverse American people.

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Works Cited
"About Us." - United Auburn Indian Community. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.auburnrancheria.com/about>.
"ABOUT US The Place to Play in Northern California." Cache Creek. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.cachecreek.com/about-us/>.
"Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria." Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Nov. 2012. <http://www.gratonrancheria.com/>.
"Thunder Valley Casino & Resort." Thunder Valley Casino Resort. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.thundervalleyresort.com/?gclid=CI_R3qXv1rMCFYN_QgodAmwA9Q>.
"William J. Clinton." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamjclinton>.
"Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation." Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.yochadehe.org/>.