The United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC) is a

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Native America tribe consisting mostly of

Miwok The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) 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 ...

Indians indigenous to the Sacramento Valley region. 0120R Auburn Rancheria Locator Map

The historic Auburn Rancheria is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Auburn, in

Placer County Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the G ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

The tribe

Total tribal membership of UAIC is approximately 170, with 52 members residing on the Auburn Rancheria (), located in western

near the community of Sheridan. The Tribe is governed by its tribal council, which consists of the chairperson, vice-chairperson, treasurer, secretary and council member at large. (2)

History

The UAIC is the successor to the Auburn Band, largely Miwok Indians. These indigenous communities of California Indians resided near Auburn, California and survived the depredations of the 19th century. This territory offered UAIC ancestors abundant year-round food sources. Food gathering was based on seasonal ripening, but

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

gathering Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to: Anthropology and sociology * Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods *Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a s ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

went on all year, with the greatest activity in late summer and early fall. Seasonal harvests were only for those with personal property and much activity and social behavior centered on them. Status, sharing, trading, ceremonies and disagreements were important adjuncts to the gathering and distribution of food. Grasses, herbs, and rushes provided food and material for clothing and baskets. Seeds were gathered by the use of a seed beater and tray. They were then parched, steamed, dried, cooked into a mush or dried for storage. Bear hunts were ceremonial. Black bears were usually hunted in winter, where lighted poles were used to drive them from their dens. Grizzlies that lived on the valley floor were greatly feared and rarely hunted. The historic existence of the Auburn Indian Community is documented in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' correspondence dating back to the early 1900s. In 1917, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

government purchased of land near Auburn, California, that was put in trust for the Auburn Band and formally established a reservation, known as the Auburn Rancheria.California Indians and Their Reservations.
''San Diego State University Library & Information Access.'' 2009 (retrieved 10 March 2009) However, with the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act (“IRA”), 25 U.S.C. § 671 et seq., in 1934, a dramatic shift in Federal Indian policy occurred, whereby Congress moved away from assimilationist Indian policies towards policies of self-governance. The governmental structure allowed by the IRA placed the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in charge of elections among Indian tribes to allow each tribe to accept or reject the tribal reorganization provisions of the IRA. In 1935, the 36 adult members of the Auburn Band voted 16 to 5 to reject the IRA. The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

enacted the Rancheria Termination Act in 1953, which terminated federal trust responsibilities to the Auburn Band, among many other California Indian tribes. Only a parcel of land with a park and a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

remained after the government sold the Auburn Rancheria land. In 1967, the United States terminated their recognition of the Auburn Band. President Richard Nixon ended termination policy in 1970. In 1978, during the

100th United States Congress 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, both the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

created a new federal Indian policy based on

Native American self-determination Native American self-determination refers to the social movements, legislation and beliefs by which the Native American tribes in the United States exercise self-governance and decision making on issues that affect their own people. Conceptua ...

. On July 20, 1991, descendants of the historic Auburn Band reorganized their tribal government and adopted the Constitution of the United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC), which they presented to the BIA on August 30, 1991 with a request that the Bureau “formally recognize the United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria.” An Act of Congress passed the Auburn Indian Restoration Act, which restored the Tribe's federal recognition in 1994. A provision in the act permits the tribe to purchase lands in Placer County to create a new reservation. In September 2002, the U.S. Department of the Interior took into trust the parcel of property that the Thunder Valley Casino is built on today.

Programs

The UAIC Community Giving Program, a philanthropic branch of tribal government established by the Tribe in March 2004, has provided over $4.6 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

to nonprofit organizations supporting needs in education, health, arts and humanities, environment, community development and social services.News & Media.
''United Auburn Indian Community: Auburn Rancheria.'' 2008 (retrieved 10 March 2009) UAIC has also established its own Education Department as a means to provide tribal members with educational programs, activities and services and maintains an Environmental Protection Office to address tribal environmental issues. UAIC established its own tribal school in 2008.

Thunder Valley Casino Resort

The Tribe owns the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in

Lincoln, California Lincoln is a city in Placer County, California, United States, part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. Located in an area of rapid suburban development, it grew 282.1 percent between 2000 and 2010, making it the fastest-growing city over 10,00 ...

, located near the northwest corner of Athens and Industrial Avenues, in the Sunset Industrial Area of unincorporated

. The facility, which opened in June 2003, offers a variety of entertainment including slot machines, video gaming, and various table games. Guests can also dine in an array of restaurants and bars. UAIC entered into a Tribal-State Gaming Compact with the State of California in September 1999 in order to conduct Class III gaming on trust land. This Compact was later successfully renegotiated with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004. In an unprecedented approach, the UAIC worked closely with Placer County, neighboring cities, and citizens that resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding to mitigate any potential impacts of the proposed development. In 2010, Thunder Valley Casino Resort was named Best Regional Casino in Sacramento Magazine's "Best Of" issue, beating out competitor casinos Red Hawk Casino and Jackson Rancheria Casino and Hotel.2010 Best "Just for Fun" 2010

Notes

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Auburn Indian Community Native American tribes in California Maidu Miwok Federally recognized tribes in the United States Auburn, California Placer County, California Populated places in Placer County, California