United States Department of the Interior 

OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR 

Washington, D.C. 20240 

M REPLY REFER TO: 

Ury( 2- 

Kevin K. Washburn, Esq. 

General Counsel 

National Indian Gaming Commission 

1441 L Street, N.W., 9th Floor 

Washington, D.C. 20005 

Dear Mr. Washburn: /. 

. . 

, d 

Your office requested a legal opinion regarding whether land held in trust by the 

Secretary of Interior for Betty Green falls within the defmition of "Indian lands" under the Indian 

Gaming Regulatory Act ("IGRA"), 25 U.S.C. $5 2701-21 (1988). We conclude that the l&ds are 

"Indian lands" and therefore may be used for Indian gaming operations on the property. 

Background 

On July 18, 1985, the Secretary accepted title to Parcels 20 and 21 of Elk Valley 

Rancheria Subdivision in trust for Betty Green pursuant to Tillie Hardwick et al. v. United States, 

Civil No. C-79-1910-SW (N.D. Cal. 1983) ("Hardwick I") (unpublished) (on file in our office). 

In Hardwick I, the United States agreed to settle litigation that challenged the purported 

termination of seventeen California Rancherias. The United States agreed that the individual 

members of the Rancherias would be restored to their status as Indians and the U.S. would 

recognize the Indian Tribes, Bands, Communities or groups of the seventeen Rancherias as 

Indian entities with the same status as they possessed prior to distribution of these Rancherias. 

The United States also agreed that, "any named individual plaintiff or class member who 

received or presently owns fee title to an interest in any former trust allotment by reason of the 

distribution of the assets of any of the Rancherias listed . . . shall be entitled to elect to restore 

any such interest to trust status, to be held by the United States for the benefit of such Indian 

person(s)." Id. at para. 6. 

Hardwick I did not determine whether or to what extent the boundaries of the seventeen 

Rancherias were restored. Id. at 5. The district court reached that determination for Elk Valley 

Rancheria in 1987, stating that: "the original boundaries of the [Smith River and Elk Valley 

Rancherias] . . . are hereby restored, and all land within these restored boundaries of the plaintiff 

Rancherias are declared to be 'Indian Country."' (Emphasis in original.) The court also held that 

the Rancheria "shall be treated by the County of Del Norte and the United States of America, as 

any other federally recognized Indian Reservation." (Emphasis supplied.) 
See Tillie Hardwick v. United States, Civil No. C-79-1910-SW, at 4 (N.D. Cal. March 2, 1987) 

(Hardwick 11) (unpublished) (on file with our office). 

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 

The IGRA requires that any Indian gaming be conducted on "Indian lands." See, 25 

U.S.C. $270 l(5). IGRA defines "Indian lands" as: 

(A) all lands within the limits of any Indian reservation; and 

(B) any lands title to which is either held in trust by the United States for the 

benefit of any Indian tribe or individual or held by any Indian tribe or individual 

subject to restriction by the United States against alienation and over which an 

Indian tribe exercises governmental power. 

25 U.S.C. 8 2703(4). 

Parcels 20 and 21 meet the definition of subsection (A). It is well established that 

Rancherias are "for all practical purposes" reservations. Solicitor's Opinion, M-28958 (April 26, 

1939) , 1 OD. Sol. On Indian Affairs 891 (U.S.D.I. 1979); cf. Oklahoma Tax Commission v. 

Citizen Band of Potawatomi Indian Tribe, 498 U.S. 505,5 11 (1991). When the district court 

ordered that the Rancherias be restored to Indian country "as they existed immediately prior to 

their purported termination under the Rancheria Act," the Elk Valley Rancheria returned to its 

status as an Indian reservation. &, Stipulation to Restoration of Indian Country and Order, 

Hardwick 11. Parcels 20 and 21 are within the limits of the Rancheria boundaries as reestablished by the district court's order. They are, thus, lands within the limits of an Indian 

reservation. 

Furthermore, the Department of Interior, by accepting the land in trust in 1985, 

acknowledged that the land was part of the original Rancheria distributed to the individual, Betty 

Green. See, Acceptance of Conveyance, Betty Green, a.k.a. Betty Jean Green, DOI, BIA 

(December 6, 1987) (on file with our office). This acceptance also demonstrates that the 

property is within the limits of an Indian reservation. Additionally, the Pacific Region of the 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) sent us two reports, one received in September 1999 and the other 

in July 1999. Through these reports, BIA confirms that the land used for gaming is located 

within those boundaries. See, Reports and Map, enclosed. Furthermore, the existing gaming 

facility has been located on Betty Green's land since 1996. She is leasing a portion of her trust 

property to the Tribe for the Elk Valley Casino. A new lease was executed by the parties in April 

1999 and submitted to BIA. Although the BIA has not yet approved the lease, this does not 

impact our legal conclusion that the facility is located on Indian lands. 

While the United States, as co-defendant, did not sign the 1987 stipulation because it 

concerned Del Norte County Government tax issues, the United States did sign the underlying 
stipulation that restored the Tribe in 1983. In that stipulation, the United States agreed and the 

court held that it would not determine the boundaries of the Rancheria yet, but, "shall retain 

jurisdiction to resolve this issue in fiuther proceedings herein." The stipulated judgment that 

plaintiff and defendant Del Norte County finalized in 1987, was one of the "fiuther proceedings" 

anticipated by the 1983 stipulation. The 1987 stipulation also provides that the Rancheria, "shall 

be treated by the United States of America as any other federally recognized Indian reservation." 

For these reasons the United States considers itself bound by both stipulations. 

Therefore, lands held in trust for Betty Green, an individual, are "Indian lands" under 

IGRA and may be used for an Indian gaming facility. 

If you have any questions on this matter, please contact me or my staff lawyer, John 

Jasper at (202) 208-5738. 

/ Derril fl~ordan 

Associate Solicitor 

Division of Indian Affairs 

Enclosures