Chumash Fights Back

The group “No More Slots” has been gathering petition signatures to fight against the addition of more slot machines at the Chumash Casino. The group says that the number of slot machines that the casino already has is plenty, and wants Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to stop them in adding any more. They say that the addition of another 5,000 slot machines will be detrimental to the community, and is insisting that they be stopped.

However, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is fighting back against the group, taking out ads in the Santa Ynez Valley News, the Santa Barbara News-Press, and the Santa Maria Times. Their ads have a heading that says “No More Lies” and is aimed at the group and their scare tactics. They say that the group is trying to scare local residents by saying that they are trying to bring in 5,000 more slot machines, and that they are spreading lies.

They say that they are not even negotiating with the governor to bring in 5,000 slot machines, and that before the group started attacking them they should have gotten their facts straight. Last fall the group had spoken with the governor regarding adding the slot machines, but they only had one meeting and have not spoken of it since. They say that the group does not have their facts straight and they should have checked them before riling up local citizens.

There is a town meeting planned for Tuesday, but the tribe is not planning on attending. They say it would be a waste of their time and would be akin to a “public lynching” as the group is obviously not interested in the truth of the matter. They say that the group is trying to say that they are responsible for all of the crime in the area and that they bring nothing to the community except increased crime, more traffic, and diminished property values. The tribe takes exception to the fact that all of the crime in the community is blamed on them, and visitors to their casino spend money in the town as well. They say if they were not there the community would not be as successful as they are now.

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