Since the indefinite closing of Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, fears have risen among programs and organizations receiving contributions from the tribe, including Chukchansi Park Downtown and Fresno State.
On Oct. 10 the casino was forced to shut down by the government after tribal infighting led to one faction entering the casino armed. Now, with legal proceedings ongoing, it is unclear when it will re-open or when just under 1,000 of its laid-off employees will be able to go back to work.
Ken Hanson, a professor of political science at Fresno State, said the Chukchansi tribe has donated a good amount of money toward the linguistics program, and that support may be in danger in the future.
The Chukchansi tribe donated $1 million to Fresno State to work on the revitalization of the tribe’s language. This includes putting together an alphabet system, a dictionary, language lessons and the training of tribal language teachers.
A payment system was created that allowed the Chukchansi tribe to give $200,000 annually for five years. So far the tribe has made three such payments.
Charles Ettner, adjunct professor and American Indian studies program coordinator, said the closure could have an impact on the university’s campus.
“If the casino was to stay closed for a long period of time, then next year’s portion of that gift wouldn’t arrive, and we wouldn’t stop the program, because that’s not where we’re at,” he said. “We would just not be able to do as much, and some of the people whose time is being paid for out of that gift would not be able to put as much time in.”
Hanson also said that students who receive financial support from Chukchansi through scholarships may be affected.
“[Things that may be affected include] potentially support for individual students from that tribe, and I don’t know how many they have here, but there are a few,” he said.
The possibility that the casino may be closed permanently has also raised financial fears to the Fresno community.
According to the Fresno Bee, Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill said, “This shutdown is causing enormous strife and hardships to employees.”
“I know it’s harming many, many collateral businesses in the community,” he added.
forALLnations • Jan 13, 2015 at 7:44 pm
As a Chukchansi citizen disenrolled from Picayune in 2006, along with all four of my children (then ranging from 14 to 20 years of age) I can tell you that my daughter also lost her tribal scholarship. She was a sophomore at San Francisco State University, was majoring in American Indian Studies, and had hopes and dreams of using that education to return home to help our People. Regardless of the loss of her scholarship, she went on to involve herself in many native activites there, including co-organization of the San Francsco State University Pow wow with two other AIS students, and assisting in planning curriculum for the fledgling AIS major program. Ultimately, she was unable to continue financially and left SFSU in her senior year without her BA. My son, who was just ready to enter junior college and had submitted paperwork to the tribe for his scholarship, never received his. His application was not acted on, even though it was submitted and it was tribal policy that no-one would be denied ANY benefit until actually disenrolled, and even though we had not even had a disenrollment hearing by August 2006 when he began college. Over a THOUSAND Chukchansi People, including MANY students have now been dismembered at Picayune, which is a total disrespect of our ancestors, history, culture, and values as Chukchansi Indian People. SHAME on ALL the tribal councils, all the tribal “leaders” at Picayune who have participated in this destruction since it began, INCLUDING all who now falsely claim to be “anti-disenrollment” now that the destruction is affecting them and their families. The solution? Simple….bring the People–ALL the People–home to Picayune…where WE BELONG!!! Cathy L. Cory
Chukchansi
Disenrolled October 2006 (along with 600 other Chukchansi in 2006-2007)
Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians
UrMammi • Oct 27, 2015 at 11:58 am
Your kids from your NDN man right? You have NDN parents right? And their parents both NDN right? *waits* Your sure do like to present yourself to the general public like your some kind of NDN when really your NDN blood amounts to a drop in the bucket., amid a sea of Other, and your kids.. Well I kno lots of white /black/Mexican kids tht have a drop or two in them and they aren’t all faking the fraud…really. What gives you or any other “once upon a time” NDN the right to feel so ENTITLED? I’m just curious.
OriginalPechanga • Oct 28, 2014 at 1:22 pm
Imagine the strife and hardships that the Chukchansi Tribe have caused to their own people that they disenrolled and stripped of citizenship. Do we have any empathy for them, or do we just worry about funding budgets? Fresno State is working on a Chukchansi LANGUAGE program, yet Chukchansi ELIMINATED an original LANGUAGE SPEAKER! http://www.originalpechanga.com/2012/05/good-grief-chukchansi-which-disenrolled.html Time to stop taking money from Chukchansi, until they bring all the people home. SOVEREIGN? OF course they are…but then, so was South Africa…which had the right to practice apartheid. Look deeper than your wallet Fresno State…