Remarks by Jessica Tavares to the Roseville City Council

Remarks by Jessica Tavares, Tribal Chairperson, To the Roseville City Council

Good evening. I am Jessica Tavares, the chairperson for the United Auburn Indian Community. I am joined today by over two dozen members of the tribe. We are attending today's city council meeting because we feel that you need to hear about our tribal history, including our efforts to regain our reservation and a sense of identity. We also would like to answer your questions and respond to your concerns about the gaming site that we propose near the corner of Athens Avenue and Industrial Boulevard.

Let me begin by giving you some historic perspective about California's Indian population. Prior to the California Gold Rush, there were between 200,000 and 300,000 Indians living in Northern California. As people immigrated out West, our ancestors began to disappear through the slaughter of entire Indian tribes. Fewer than 1 percent of that number is alive today.

The reestablishment of the United Auburn Indian Community began when the Department of Interior documented the existence of a separate, cohesive band of Miwok and Maidu Indians, who occupied a village on the outskirts of Auburn. In 1917, the United States acquired land in trust for the Auburn Band and formally established a reservation, known as the Auburn Rancheria. Our tribal members lived on the reservation as a community despite great adversity.

Following the Rancheria Act in 1953, the United States terminated federal recognition of the Auburn Band. With the exception of a 2.4-acre parcel containing a tribal church and park, the land comprising the Auburn Rancheria was sold to individuals. In 1991, as surviving members of the Auburn Band, we reorganized the tribal government as the United Auburn Indian Community.

Three years later, the United States Congress passed the Auburn Indian Restoration Act, restoring our federal recognition and allowing the United States to acquire "any land located in Placer County" to establish a new reservation for the tribe. In consultation with Placer County officials and community organizations, we selected two new parcels of land in unincorporated areas of Placer County — one for a gaming site and another for a residential site.

I will now introduce Howard Dickstein, counsel to the tribe, who will address the negotiations that have occurred with the Placer County Board of Supervisors in order to establish a legal and binding contract — a document that will ensure the City of Roseville and other neighboring communities specific protections.