美国地方法院裁定，将审查斯科茨谷赌场项目的所有证据。
Decision over ancestral rights for land could go either way
The legal wrangle over whether Scotts Valley will get 400,000-square-foot casino in Vallejo has continued with the US District Court for the District of Columbia rejecting Scotts Valley’s challenges against the Department of the Interior’s reconsideration of the plans but warning the the final ruling may bar the casino’s development completely.
The latest ruling will allow the department to review all the evidence around the project and determine once and for all if the land to be used qualifies for gaming.
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians’ wants to build 160-acre, $700m casino.
The court said the DOI should have made it clear to Scotts Valley that a temporary halt could be placed on the 项目 to gain a gaming eligibility determination.
District Judge Trevor McFadden said: “The Court’s remedy does not bar Interior from continuing its reconsideration, nor does it stop the Department from revoking the Band’s gaming eligibility at the end of that process.”
Shawn Davis, Chairman of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, said: “On behalf of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, I would like to thank the court for recognizing Secretary Burgum’s violation of our constitutional right to due process. Despite our multiple attempts to engage with the department on this matter through proper tribal consultations, Secretary Burgum failed to engage with us. The Band is hopeful that the clarity provided by the Court will foster a more collaborative relationship with the Department moving forward.”
Opposing the casino project, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Chairman Anthony Roberts said: “Today’s court decision correctly reaffirms the Department of the Interior’s decision to reevaluate this proposed casino, which would destroy irreparable cultural and ecological resources and has already been rejected three other times by the Department. As the department stated in its letter announcing its decision to reconsider the project, this process will assess all facts and evidence – revealing what history already makes clear: Scotts Valley has no historical connection to this land.
“For years we have worked with our federal, state, and local partners to shed light on the flaws in this process,” Roberts continued. “We are grateful the department can continue doing the right thing by evaluating all evidence. We are confident this reconsideration process will reveal the truth Scotts Valley has attempted to hide from the very start – their ancestral lands are not in Vallejo, and they never were.”
