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.