Wilton Rancheria is a federally recognized Native American tribe of Miwok people based in northern California.[1] They were formed from Wilton Rancheria Miwok and the Me-Wuk Indian Community of the Wilton Rancheria.[2] It regained recognition in 2009.
The Wilton Rancheria has more than 900 enrolled members; 62% of the enrolled population resides in Southern Sacramento County.[3] The rancheria (or reservation) consists of 38.5 acres (156,000m2) of land[4] located in the Sacramento Valley, near the city of Elk Grove in the community of Wilton. It was put in trust for the tribe by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, as at the time the tribe was landless.[5]
Government
The tribe is headquartered in Elk Grove, California. The tribe has nine elected tribal officials.[3]
Under its constitution, it has four branches of government, the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, and Judicial Branch, and the General Council. Each play an important role in how the Tribe is run and the governing laws and rules are decided. The general council consists of all eligible voters of the Wilton Rancheria Tribe. Meetings of the general council are usually held annually or whenever one is needed.[3]
The current elected officials are as follows:
Chair: Jesus Tarango
Vice Chair: Raquel Williams
Tribal Council Spokesperson: Cammeron Hodson
Tribal Council Vice Spokesperson:
Tribal Council Members: Mark Andrews, Cammeron Hodson, Donald Brown Jr., Antonio Ruiz, Jay Williams, Kevin Singh (These comprise the legislative branch.)
Branches of government
The Wilton Rancheria Tribe has four branches of government, which are the: Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch, and the General Council. Each of which are responsible for different aspects of the tribe.
The Executive Branch is responsible for proposing legislation and annual tribal budget to the Legislative Branch and negotiating and entering into treaties. This branch is headed by the chairperson and the vice-chairperson.
The Legislative Branch is responsible for making laws and regulations, authorizing expenditures, and promoting social advancement of the tribe as a whole. The members of the tribal council serve in staggered four-year terms.
The Judicial Branch acts as the tribe's Tribal Court, which is responsible for jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases. The Chief Judge of the Wilton Rancheria Tribal Court is Christine Williams.
The General Council consists of all the eligible voters of Wilton Rancheria. The General Council is able to propose amendments to the Constitution, approve them, and remove tribal officials.
History
For many years, ancestors of the Wilton Rancheria Miwok lived along the Cosumnes River until 1958. The tribal members are descendants of the Plains and Sierra Miwok, who lived and prospered in the Sacramento Valley long before encountering European explorers and colonists.[6] In their own language, mi-wuk means "people".[7]
Between March 1851 and January 1852, three commissioners negotiated eighteen treaties with representatives of some of the indigenous population in California. These were never ratified by the Senate, as required to have the force of law, nor were they even discussed in Congress, according to available records. The documentation was hidden for more than 50 years.[citation needed]
The tribe's status was terminated in 1958 under the California Rancheria Act, at a time when the federal government believed that assimilation of Native American tribes was the best policy.[8] It passed legislation to terminate the federal status under its Indian termination policy of several tribes within the boundaries of the United States.
After termination in 1958, the Wilton Rancheria Tribe suffered long-term adverse effects, such as a: 62% unemployment rate, median annual income of $20,000, 38% without health insurance, and a college graduation rate of 14%.[3]
In the 1970s, the policy of termination was reconsidered by President Richard M. Nixon and Congress, which began to favor Indian self-determination. In part this was due to widespread Native American activism stressing their assertion of sovereignty and seeking more control over their affairs.
In the 1990s the Wilton Rancheris reorganized their government and officially requested the US to formally restore their federal recognition. They sued in court, receiving a ruling in 2009 from the US District Court Judge. Based on the documentation of evidence of longstanding federal recognition, due to multiple treaties negotiated with its representatives in the 19th century, the tribe had its federal recognition restored on June 13, 2009.[9]
The tribe developed and passed a constitution in 2011, to create the basis for an elected government with four branches. They set up the framework for a structural government. The Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 176, Notices 55731, states that the Tribe had designated boundaries of the Service Delivery Area (SDA) of Sacramento County, California.
The Tribe has enrolled numerous members, and a 36-acre portion of land for its reservation was taken into trust by the federal government, to restore some portion of its previous land. It plans to develop the Wilton Rancheria Elk Grove Resort and Casino on this land, to generate revenue for tribal welfare and education,[5] and won a ruling in its favor by the courts to enable it to do so. It also seeks to attract customers and visitors.[9]
In November 2024, the Tribe purchased a majority ownership stake of Sacramento Republic FC, becoming the first Native American Nation to hold majority ownership of a men's professional sports team.[10]
The Miwok are members of four linguistically related Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok languages in the Utian family. The word Miwok means people in the Miwok languages.
The California Valley Miwok Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people in San Joaquin County and Calaveras County, California. They were previously known as the Sheep Ranch Rancheria or the Sheep Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indian of California. The California Valley Miwok are Sierra Miwok, an Indigenous people of California.
The Ione Band of Miwok Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people in Amador County, California. As of the 2010 census the population was only 5.
The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria, California is a federally recognized tribe.
The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people in Tuolumne County, California. The Tuolumne Band are central Sierra Miwok people. Annually, in September, the tribe holds an acorn festival and intertribal gathering.
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo Indians. The tribe was officially restored to federal recognition in 2000 by the U.S. government pursuant to the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act.
The United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) is a federally recognized Native America tribe consisting mostly of Miwok Indians indigenous to the Sacramento Valley region.
Indian termination describes United States policies relating to Native Americans from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. It was shaped by a series of laws and practices with the intent of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream American society. Cultural assimilation of Native Americans was not new; the belief that indigenous people should abandon their traditional lives and become what the government considered "civilized" had been the basis of policy for centuries. What was new, however, was the sense of urgency that, with or without consent, tribes must be terminated and begin to live "as Americans." To that end, Congress set about ending the special relationship between tribes and the federal government.
The Graton Rancheria was a 15.45-acre (62,500 m2) property in the coastal hills of northern California, about two miles (3 km) northwest of Sebastopol. The site is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the hamlet of Graton, population 1,815 in 2000. The area is a few miles west of Santa Rosa, the largest of Sonoma County's nine cities and the County seat, population 147,595 in 2000. It was a former rancheria for Central Coast and Central valley tribes, including the Southern Pomo, a Hokan-speaking tribe, and Coast Miwok.
The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok in Amador County, California. The Buena Vista Miwok are Sierra Miwok, an indigenous people of California.
The Redwood Valley Rancheria is a federally recognized Indian tribe located in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County, California. The tribe is primarily composed of Pomo Indians. Redwood Valley Rancheria is a sovereign Indian tribe with the powers of self-governance.
The Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Indians in Lake County, California. The tribe's reservation, the Upper Lake Rancheria, is 119 acres (0.48 km2) large and located near the town of Upper Lake in northwestern California.
The Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Eastern Pomo people in Lake County, California.
The Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of Miwok people in Tuolumne County, California. The Chicken Ranch Rancheria Miwok are central Sierra Miwok, an Indigenous people of California.
Tillie Hardwick was a Pomo Indian woman who was instrumental in reversing the California Indian Rancheria termination policy of the U.S. government.
The California Rancheria Termination Acts refer to three acts of Congress and an amendment passed in the 1950s and 1960s as part of the US Indian termination policy. The three Acts, passed in 1956, 1957, and 1958 targeted 41 Rancherias for termination. An additional seven were added via an amendment in 1964. Including three previous terminations, 46 of the 51 targeted Rancherias were successfully terminated. Through litigation and legislation, over 30 Rancherias have been restored and at least five are still working to be.
The Miwok are four Native American groups in Northern California.
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