10 months ago
26
COARSEGOLD, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Over 100 protestors gathered extracurricular of Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino connected Saturday, with picket signs successful manus aft being disenrolled from the people that operates the casino.
Protestors walked astir a fractional mile from Road 417 down Highway 41 to Lucky Lane successful beforehand of the casino.
Once there, protesters occupied some sides of Highway 41 astatine the intersection of Lucky Lane.
Madera County Sheriff's deputies were contiguous to guarantee the information of protesters, drivers, casino unit and attendees.
Among the disenrolled protesters was erstwhile tribal committee subordinate Claudia Gonzales who says the people is unjustly kicking radical retired of the people to maximize their ain portions of the casino’s earnings.
“We person provided insubstantial documentation - proving our individuality with Chukchansi,” Gonzales said. “Yet they crook a unsighted oculus due to the fact that they’re trying to summation their per capita payments.”
Gonzales says successful that process the people has emotionally impacted galore erstwhile members by invalidating the practice of everyone disenrolled. She besides says galore tribal members person suffered greatly aft losing fiscal and aesculapian benefits that came with tribal enrollment.
One antheral who asked that his sanction not beryllium utilized said, “We mislaid our location due to the fact that of this. My kids had to determination schools and astir importantly my kids are losing their heritage.”
Jessica Alvarez says her children besides suffered emotionally aft disenrollment.
According to Alvarez, her kid was openly mocked by tribal leaders astatine a regular monthly gathering and told the rubric of Chukchansi should not impact her daughter’s taste identity.
“Tracey Hopkins herself disregarded my child’s feelings,” Alvarez said.
“To me, that's sickening. You're going to disregard a six-year-old's feelings when that six-year-old is crying retired because they're being kicked retired of the people for nary reason.”
YourCentralValley.com reached retired to Tracey Hopkins for a connection connected the protestation and received “no comment,” successful response.
While the circumstances for the protests were unanimously referred to arsenic unfortunate by each protestors, 1 antheral says his disenrollment has been a treble edged sword.
“It feels similar full betrayal. It conscionable feels similar much breached promises,” Lucas Salisbury said. “On the different broadside of that, it's really brought a batch of america together, conscionable similar today.”
According to Salisbury, aft being disenrolled helium reached retired to different people members for assistance and successful doing so, helium not lone got assistance but besides a newfound transportation to his heritage.
“A batch of america person adjacent learned much astir our ancestors and our history,” Salisbury said. “As acheronian of a concern arsenic it is, determination is immoderate airy to it and we are capable to travel together.”
Salisbury says helium believes that the protestation has the imaginable to spark a alteration that volition assistance bash distant with disenrollment completely, not conscionable for Chukchansi.
“It's from the mediocre attraction of authorities governments, section governments, and the national government,” Salisbury said.
“They enactment these policies successful spot that person fixed america these tools to onslaught each other. [But] I americium hopeful that we volition recognize that arsenic a corporate radical and determination volition beryllium a time wherever this enrollment is nary longer plaguing our tribes.”
