The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok in Amador County, California.^[1][2] The Buena Vista Miwok are Sierra Miwok, an indigenous people of California.^[3]

A new casino will open this month in Amador County. Harrah’s Northern California is in the city of Ione off Highway 88. Caesars Entertainment partnered with the Buena Vista Rancheria Me-Wuk. Got kicked out of the new Harrah's casino in Ione, California while trying to go to one of the restaurants inside because i'm under 21 Music used: my own unn. Harrah's Northern California is now open 24/7 Must Be 21 or older to gamble. Know When To Stop Before You Start. Read more SNEAK PREVIEW: Harrah's Northern California Casino April 19, 2019 - Take a tour with ABC 10 News to preview Harrah's Northern California Casino which will be opening in ten days. The new casino is 32 miles southeast of Sacramento and 38 miles from Stockton. Harrah's Northern California is a $168 million casino located in Amador County. It opened to the public on April 29, 2019 and celebrated its Grand Opening on May 17, 18 and 19. Courtesy of ABC10.com Casino. Live Dealer. Poker. Sports.

Government[edit]

The tribe conducts business from Sacramento, California.^[3] The tribe is led by an elected council. The current tribal chairperson is Rhonda Morningstar Pope.^[4]

Tribal staff includes Dr. Roselynn Lwenya, the environmental resources director, and Arnold Samuel, the General Counsel. Tribal enrollment is based in lineal descent from original tribal members;^[4] that is, the tribe has no minimum blood quantum requirements.

The federal acknowledgement of 'Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians,' is being challenged by a lawsuit that is currently awaiting scheduling in the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals in San Francisco in 'Friends of Amador County, et al. versus Ken Salazar, et al.'^[5]

Reservation[edit]

The Buena Vista Rancheria is 67 acres (0.27 km²) parcel of land, located just outside the census-designated place of Buena Vista. The land once belonged to the Oliver family and was purchased by the federal government to establish an Indian rancheria in 1927.^[6]

Casino[edit]

Harrah's Northern California is a tribal casino owned by the tribe and located on its reservation. Caesars Entertainment manages the casino and licenses the Harrah's name to the tribe. The casino has 71,000 square feet (6,600 m²) of gaming space with 20 table games and about 1,000 slot machines.^[7]

The tribe won its legal fight against Amador County to allow the development of the casino in 2016.^[8] In 2018, the tribe sold $205 million of high-interest junk bonds to finance the project, and struck its development agreement with Caesars.^[9][10] The casino opened on April 29, 2019.^[11]

History[edit]

The rancheria was unilaterally terminated by Congress, along with 42 other rancherias, under the California Rancheria Act of 1958. The tribe has been federally recognized since 1985. In 1970, President Richard Nixon declared the Rancheria Act a failure. The Buena Vista Rancheria tribe joined 16 other native California tribes in a class action lawsuit, Hardwick v. United States to restore their sovereignty, and in 1987, the tribes won their lawsuit. On 22 December 1983 the Buena Vista Rancheria tribe ratified its constitution.^[6]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Pritzker 135–6
2. ^'Tribal Office Locations.'California Department of Transportation: District 10. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
3. ^ ^ab'California Indians and Their Reservations: Miwok.'San Diego State University Library and Information Access. 2011 . Retrieved 28 May 2012.
4. ^ ^ab'Tribal Government.'Archived 27 May 2012 at the Wayback MachineBuena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
5. ^Sacramentopress.com: 'Protest_of_Casino_Development_at_Buena_Vista_Rancheria'Archived 22 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ ^ab'History.'Archived 14 June 2012 at the Wayback MachineBuena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
7. ^Vicki Gonzalez (16 April 2019). 'New Amador County casino plans for grand opening'. KCRA-TV. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
8. ^Peter Hecht (29 June 2016). 'Brown signs gambling agreement for Amador tribe'. Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
9. ^Davide Scigliuzzo (7 March 2018). 'California tribe pays sky-high yield on casino bond'. International Financing Review. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
10. ^Wade Tyler Millward (13 April 2018). 'Tribe, Caesars to bring Harrah's casino to Northern California'. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
11. ^Doug Johnson (29 April 2019). 'Thousands rush to Harrah's Northern California casino for soft opening'. KTXL-TV. Retrieved 30 April 2019.

References[edit]

• Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN978-0-19-513877-1

External links[edit]

Harrah's Northern California will suspend its operations as a way to limit the risk of novel coronavirus spreading, the company announced Tuesday.

The halt will begin for the Amador County casino Wednesday as a precautionary measure, Harrah's said in a release. Employees will receive two weeks' pay and their benefits will continue during the closure.

New Harrah's Casino In Northern California

“This decision was not made lightly as it comes with great impact to our team members,” Buena Vista Rancheria Chairwoman Rhonda Pope-Flores said. “However, given the call for aggressive containment and mitigation efforts and to do our part to protect our team members, guests and community, we felt a suspension in operations was the responsible thing to do.”

The casino said there are no reported cases of COVID-19 on its premises.

It is unclear when the casino will reopen.

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Harrah S New Northern California Casino

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