The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, California. Photo from Facebook
A faction of the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians hopes to reopen the California tribe's shuttered casino after winning a ruling from the Interior Board of Indian Appeals. An administrative law judge at the IBIA upheld a decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to work with Reggie Lewis and Nancy Ayala, who are the co-chairs of the so-called unification council. The two leaders were in control of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino until it was closed last October in a dispute with another faction. The tribe has broken into at least four factions. They have clashed over the management of the casino, the handling of elections, disenrollment proceedings and potential re-enrollment decisions. Two leaders of one faction remain jailed in connection with the incident that prompted the casino's closure. Turtle Talk has posted the IBIA decision, Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians v. BIA. Get the Story:
Feds to recognize 1 leadership council of Chukchansi tribe (KSFN 2/9)
Chukchansi tribe’s 2010 council backed in federal appeals decision (The Fresno Bee 2/10)
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