WASHINGTON — Tired of being considered quasi-Indians by the federal government, two Chumash groups from Ventura County are pushing the federal government for official recognition, a difficult and contentious process but one with potentially lucrative rewards.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs must decide when a Native American tribe is really a Native American tribe. Over the years, the bureau has established government-to-government ties with hundreds of them--from the Cherokees to the Choctaws to the Paiutes.
But many other "tribes" are vying for inclusion on the list, drawn by a blend of ethnic pride and the prospect of federal benefits and lucrative casino rights. Mounting the efforts are direct descendants to centuries-old chiefs, those suspected of fudging their genealogical lines and everyone in between.
In all, there are 161 groups--about a quarter of them from California--that have petitioned the government for official recognition, the first step in a process that can stretch on for decades.
The two Ventura County Chumash groups are among them. One group filed its initial petition in 1983 and another began its campaign for recognition just last month.
"We're tired of being out there in limbo," said Ernestine Desoto, whom scholars say is the daughter of the last surviving Chumash to speak a native dialect. "We're tired of defending our Indian-ness."
The 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which permits casino gambling on reservations, has turned official recognition into a high-stakes exercise--more so than the federal loans, health assistance, economic development funds and other Native-American aid. Those programs have been stretched thin and scaled back still further in the current round of budget cuts.
There is a feeling of special urgency now, with some congressional critics calling for the government to decide once and for all which tribes are really tribes. But the historical mistrust between Native Americans and Washington bureaucrats lingers, with some tribal members antsy about seeking the blessing of their onetime conquerors.
With hundreds of members throughout the Santa Monica Mountains and beyond, both local Chumash groups say they are legitimate tribes, separate and distinct from the sole Chumash tribe recognized by the federal government--the 350 Native Americans who live on a small reservation at Santa Ynez.
