Picayune Rancheria etc. v. North Fork Rancheria etc.

FACTS

Plaintiff Picayune-Chukchansi is a federally recognized Indian tribe that holds Indian trust lands in Coarsegold, Madera County, California. Picayune-Chukchansi refers to the trust lands as the tribe’s Rancheria lands and asserts the lands were “first founded in or around 1912.” Picayune-Chukchansi owns and operates the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, a class III gaming facility, on the Rancheria lands. The major transportation corridor closest to the Rancheria lands is State Route 99, which is approximately 32 miles away. Defendant and intervenor North Fork also is a federally recognized Indian tribe. A March 2010 memorandum of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States Department of the Interior (DOI) stated the tribe had more than 1,750 citizens, with 982 adult tribal citizens living in California. A 2016 document executed on behalf of the Interior Secretary asserted North Fork had more than 2,000 tribal citizens. The 80-acre

3. North Fork Rancheria is located in the Sierra foothills adjacent to the Sierra National Forest in a scenic and environmentally sensitive area. Overview of Federal Statutes1 The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA; 25 U.S.C. §…