By ALLISON TRUNKEY
atrunkey@soundpublishing.com
BREMERTON — An effort to build a casino on a three-quarter-acre parcel of federal Indian trust land in a Bremerton neighborhood is over.
That’s according to Ron Ragge, a developer with Gold Mountain Capital LLC, who was exploring casino development as an economic development option with the owners of 1321 N. Callow Ave.
Ragge and the Chambers family say they have signed a non-disclosure agreement, although they would not say with whom, and are “indefinitely” unavailable to comment. Family member Kevin Chambers would only say on July 8, “We have no plans regarding the property at this time.”
Meanwhile, the Suquamish Tribe maintains that the Kitsap County Superior Court erred when it gave the City of Bremerton regulatory authority over the sale of fireworks on the site. The land, though unique in size and geography, is considered by the U.S. Code to be “Indian Country” and falls under the jurisdiction of the Suquamish Tribe, because the parcel is within Suquamish’s historical territory. The Suquamish Tribe has historically licensed the Chambers family’s fireworks stand; Superior Court Judge Kevin Hull ruled in January that the family cannot sell fireworks without a state-issued license and a city permit.
Narrowing the family’s economic development options: The City of Bremerton opposed the casino proposal. And the Suquamish Tribe stated in 2015 that it had no intention of allowing a casino on the Chambers’ property — casinos can only be operated by tribal governments, not individuals — and stated that any tribe that attempted to do so would violate Suquamish’s sovereignty.
So, the family continues to lease RV sites on the forested parcel; also on the property is the Ross home, built in 1928, which is occupied by a family member.
The U.S. government placed the land in trust for Roberta Law Ross, a citizen of the Quinault Nation, in the 1920s in exchange for waterfront land for expansion of the Bremerton Navy shipyard. Ross’s father, born S’Klallam and adopted Quinault, was a member of the Quinault Tribal Council; her mother was Samish, and Ross’s descendants are enrolled today at the Samish Nation.
(Land is held in trust by the federal government to protect Native American ownership. To sell the property, the Chambers family would need permission from the Secretary of the Interior.)
When Ross moved to the property in the 1920s, the area was largely rural; that soon changed. The population of Bremerton grew from less than 10,170 in 1930 to 15,134 in 1940 and 27,678 in 1950.
Ross’ grandchildren and great-grandchildren have long explored different potential uses for the property, at one time seeking the assistance of the Samish Nation. Samish officials visited the property, but deferred all decisions to Suquamish because of the property’s location. Besides renting space for RVs, the family sold fireworks every Fourth of July, with licenses issued by the Suquamish Tribe.
In 2014, the City of Bremerton sued for the authority to regulate the sale of fireworks on the site, citing safety concerns. Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said on July 7 she still believes the Chambers family’s fireworks, common to those sold on reservations, are “illegal and dangerous.” Judge Hull ruled in favor of the city.
The Suquamish Tribe has not formally responded to the court’s decision, but its communications director, April Leigh, said July 9 that the tribe maintains that the city and county have no jurisdiction over federal Indian trust land.
“Federal law regarding jurisdiction over Indian trust lands is very clear and … the Suquamish Tribe continues to contend that state and county courts have no authority over Indian Country,” Leigh wrote in a text message.
Ragge, the developer, said the family was not pleased with the judge’s decision.
“It was a silly decision. A non-event,” he said.
City officials say the ruling only relates to the regulation of fireworks on the property and doesn’t open the door to an erosion of tribal government authority.
“A Superior Court decision does not set legal precedent,” Bremerton Assistant City Attorney Kylie Purves wrote in an email on July 7. “The decision is only binding as to the situation before the court. … When lawyers cite cases as legal precedent, they are citing published decisions of higher courts.”
The family could potentially sell fireworks again — if they acquire a license and permit from the state and city. But the family maintains that the property is Indian land held in trust by the federal government, the city does not have the authority to regulate them.
The property was recently inspected. According to renter Rob Elzie, city officials visited the property during the last week of June.
To Elzie, it looked like someone was “having it appraised.” After 40 years in construction, he said he knows the signs – the white and blue marks around the trees and on the street, the wooden stake. By Elzie’s estimation, the men were measuring the property’s elevation and boundary lines. “With a plan like that, they can see what’s feasible,” he said.
The City of Bremerton Planning Department could not confirm what the inspection was about, though a spokesperson said that it could have been prompted by either the family or the city. He added, “It might be something that the family could voluntarily do with the city, but beyond that, the only stake for the city would be if it was going into the city right-of-way [the road]. But beyond that, it’s all hard to say.”
Suquamish officials looked into it. “It appears that the markers and work referred to [are] related to construction and/utility work being performed in the area,” Leigh wrote.
Lent echoed this, saying that the city is checking hydrants and meters and that this would be the only reason city personnel would be inspecting the area.
Definition of ‘Indian Country’
The federal Indian trust land at 1321 N. Callow Ave. is defined as part of “Indian Country” under section C of 18 U.S. Code § 1151. Land in Indian Country generally falls under the jurisdiction of tribal governments, and tribes have criminal jurisdiction over any Native American within Indian Country.
The code defines Indian Country as “(a) all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government … including rights-of-way running through the reservation, (b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States … and (c) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.”
