Napa Valley Register - Thompson Asks for Vigilance in Wappo Case
March 19, 2013
By Peter Jensen
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, pressed a U.S. Department of Interior official on Tuesday with questions about how vigorously the federal government would defend itself from a local Indian tribe's lawsuit.
The Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley has a summary judgment hearing in its lawsuit against the Department of Interior looming in July, and Thompson pushed Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn on the government's defense of that case in a House subcommittee meeting.
Without touching on specifics of the Wappo's case, Washburn said Interior and the Department of Justice don't encourage tribes to sue, but will aggressively defend the government from such cases.
“I'm a former DOJ lawyer,” Washburn said. “We litigate aggressively. I'm a naturally competitive kind of guy. I want to win.”
Thompson pressed Washburn on how the federal government's lawyers would handle the upcoming hearing in the Wappo's case.
Thompson, other congressional lawmakers and Napa County officials contend that tribes shouldn't use the courts to get recognition, which carries with it an ability to petition the federal government to take land into trust. Taking land into trust exempts it from local land-use and zoning restrictions, and local officials fear that would be the first step in having a casino built in Napa County. Tribal officials have said that is an option they are weighing for economic development.
“I'm asking you to tell us that you're vigorously opposing this lawsuit,” Thompson said.
Washburn said he believed the lawsuit would be well-defended, but said he couldn't discuss an active lawsuit.
“I can't comment on matters in litigation,” Washburn said.
Thompson also requested a list of people in the tribe, and said, “It's been hard to define how large that group of people actually is.”
Washburn said he didn't have that information, but would work with staff to provide it.
The hearing was devoted to ways Interior could reform the process tribes use to gain federal recognition, which can take decades for some tribes and be financially burdensome. Washburn said the department will have recommendations on potential reforms this summer.
The Wappo's case was in settlement negotiations earlier this year, but Interior and the Wappo tribe failed to reach an agreement. Instead, they will let a federal judge decide the case through the summary judgment hearing, which is scheduled for July 25. If the tribe wins, a judge would grant its request for federal recognition.
Napa and Sonoma counties joined the lawsuit in 2010, and pushed to have the case thrown out. That attempt was denied, but in court documents the counties asserted that they were working harder than the federal government was to stop the tribe's case from advancing.
Their efforts earned a rebuke from U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila. In a ruling last fall that removed the counties from the case, Davila wrote that they were causing undue delays and were disrupting the settlement negotiations between tribe and the federal government. The counties have appealed that decision.
The Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley has a summary judgment hearing in its lawsuit against the Department of Interior looming in July, and Thompson pushed Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn on the government's defense of that case in a House subcommittee meeting.
Without touching on specifics of the Wappo's case, Washburn said Interior and the Department of Justice don't encourage tribes to sue, but will aggressively defend the government from such cases.
“I'm a former DOJ lawyer,” Washburn said. “We litigate aggressively. I'm a naturally competitive kind of guy. I want to win.”
Thompson pressed Washburn on how the federal government's lawyers would handle the upcoming hearing in the Wappo's case.
Thompson, other congressional lawmakers and Napa County officials contend that tribes shouldn't use the courts to get recognition, which carries with it an ability to petition the federal government to take land into trust. Taking land into trust exempts it from local land-use and zoning restrictions, and local officials fear that would be the first step in having a casino built in Napa County. Tribal officials have said that is an option they are weighing for economic development.
“I'm asking you to tell us that you're vigorously opposing this lawsuit,” Thompson said.
Washburn said he believed the lawsuit would be well-defended, but said he couldn't discuss an active lawsuit.
“I can't comment on matters in litigation,” Washburn said.
Thompson also requested a list of people in the tribe, and said, “It's been hard to define how large that group of people actually is.”
Washburn said he didn't have that information, but would work with staff to provide it.
The hearing was devoted to ways Interior could reform the process tribes use to gain federal recognition, which can take decades for some tribes and be financially burdensome. Washburn said the department will have recommendations on potential reforms this summer.
The Wappo's case was in settlement negotiations earlier this year, but Interior and the Wappo tribe failed to reach an agreement. Instead, they will let a federal judge decide the case through the summary judgment hearing, which is scheduled for July 25. If the tribe wins, a judge would grant its request for federal recognition.
Napa and Sonoma counties joined the lawsuit in 2010, and pushed to have the case thrown out. That attempt was denied, but in court documents the counties asserted that they were working harder than the federal government was to stop the tribe's case from advancing.
Their efforts earned a rebuke from U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila. In a ruling last fall that removed the counties from the case, Davila wrote that they were causing undue delays and were disrupting the settlement negotiations between tribe and the federal government. The counties have appealed that decision.