L.A. Indians say they don’t want casino

Mark Sherman

Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2001 | 10:11 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles-area Indians seeking federal recognition as a tribe are caught in a controversy over gambling, even though they say they have no interest in starting a casino.

Anthony Morales, chairman of the Gabrieleno/Tongva Nation, said his 250 members want only enough land to build a community center and their share of the several billion dollars the U.S. government gives annually to recognized tribes.

"It's long overdue," said Morales, 53, of San Gabriel, a suburb east of Los Angeles.

The Gabrielenos' opponents, however, see a different reason behind the recognition drive.

Valerie Brown, lobbyist for four Los Angeles-area cities with card clubs that fear losing business to a casino, said the Gabrielenos only began considering recognition in the mid-1990s, when the possibilities for gambling became more apparent.

"What they want is another recognition of a tribal association in a metropolitan area which lends itself to tribal gaming," Brown, a former state lawmaker said.

California has 108 federally recognized tribes. One tribe, the Lytton band of Pomo Indians, recently acquired land in the Oakland-San Francisco Bay area through congressional action and intends to open a casino.

The provision granting the tribe the land was slipped into a large piece of legislation at the end of last year by Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, escaping debate or public notice. While Miller has defended his action, advocates for other tribes said the episode might have hurt their prospects.

Rep. Hilda Solis, a Democrat who represents part of Los Angeles County's San Gabriel Valley, wrote a bill that would recognize the Gabrielenos as a tribe.

"To be honest, I'm not sure the bill will even get a hearing," Solis said. "It's just really a sad situation. I never had any intention of my bill being used as a vehicle for gambling."

Morales, who leads monthly tribal council meetings in rented space in San Gabriel, has publicly declared that his tribe "has no intention or desire to entertain or develop a gaming operation in the County of Los Angeles." Brown and other opponents dismiss the letter as non-binding.

Federal recognition brings with it federal money, access to health care and the opportunity to have the government hold land in trust for tribes.

Morales said he knows his members will not control any large swaths of land in urbanized Los Angeles County. Instead, they're looking for scattered plots for a headquarters, housing and businesses such as a power plant.

The Gabrielenos Indians once roamed from Long Beach to the Santa Monica Mountains and the Angeles National Forest. They take their name from Mission San Gabriel, where they were forced to resettle more than 200 years ago.

If successful, they would be the first federally recognized tribe in Los Angeles County.