Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.
SACRAMENTO -- As sage smoke wafted across a muddy vacant lot near the state Capitol, three Indian tribes blessed the ground Thursday where they plan to build a 15-story hotel in an unusual partnership that spreads casino profits far from their reservations.
The planned $53 million Residence Inn by Marriott is the second project by Southern California and Wisconsin tribes that banded together to invest in a similar project scheduled to open next month near the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The Sacramento hotel, located three blocks from the state Capitol, will feature 239 suites and 30 residential units.
Three Fires LLC, a partnership of San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians and the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, will have a 62 percent stake in the project. Other investors will make up the balance.
During a ceremony to dedicate the project, an Oneida man offered prayer while a Viejas man burned sage in a cleansing ritual and then chanted songs about the theme of getting started.
Virginia Christman, a councilwoman for the Viejas Band, said the venture helps tribes reclaim a place in the same region where the gold rush of 1849 led to their demise.
"We missed out on many things and lost much," she said. "We're not reliving history. We are rewriting it the way it should have been."
With tribes wielding extensive clout as one of the state's largest political contributors, it also gives them a home of sorts much closer to the center of political action.
"Clearly it provides another kind of presence for the tribes here in Sacramento," said Jacob Coin, a spokesman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
As some tribes have grown rich from Indian casinos, they have sought to invest a growing share of their money elsewhere.
"I think it's safe to say that economic diversification has been important to the tribe," said Bobbi Webster, a spokeswoman for the Oneida. "Gaming has given them the seed money to invest in these types of projects to fuel our economy."
Besides the Washington hotel, the three tribes have other investments apart from gambling.
The Oneida have invested in a Radisson hotel outside Green Bay. The San Manuel Band has a water bottling operation. The Viejas run an outlet mall.
"It takes us away from the gaming and it gives us something else for revenues," Christman said. "We can't actually depend on gaming forever. We don't know how long that's going to be."
Alan Meister, an economist with Analysis Group Inc. who writes an annual study of Indian gambling, said diversification has often paralleled casino development, with resorts building plush hotels and adding restaurants and other amenities. But they have also branched out to other industries, including technology, agriculture and fishing.
Locating a hotel hundreds of miles from their homes, however, is a new venture that could provide a new avenue of income.
"To me, it shows they're business smart. It shows that they are able to take success and turn it into more success," said Meister. "They're looking out for their future and trying not to put all their eggs in one basket."
An opponent of tribal gaming said the hotel could stake out turf for a future casino operation.
"It's very important that they diversify, but it's also a toehold for gaming," said Cheryl Schmit, head of Stand Up for California, which is opposed to Indian gaming.
She said such a move would require approval from the governor, the Legislature and the secretary of the interior.
"It's not just something they could do overnight," she said.
Representatives of the tribes said a casino on the lot that recently was home to a church was not likely given the current plans.
"It's not in the cards," Coin said.
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