Central Valley gains another Indian tribe -- officially

WILTON
June 9, 2009 7:14am

The U.S. Interior Department has officially recognized the Wilton Miwok Rancheria as an Indian tribe, ending years of litigation, the tribe says.

Wilton Rancheria is near Elk Grove in southern Sacramento County. About 600 people belong to the tribe.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled Monday that the tribe had been illegally stripped of tribal status back in 1958 by the controversial U.S. Rancheria Act.

While repeal of the law’s impact began to gain traction in 1970, it has taken until this week for the Wilton Miwoks to prevail against the federal government.

"This is a historic day for all of the members of the Wilton Rancheria," says Mary Tarango, co-chair of the Interim Tribal Council established in 1999. "Today marks the end of a long struggle for justice, and the beginning of an exciting new opportunity to bring unity and prosperity to our people."

The settlement says that the Interior Department "...agrees that the tribe was not lawfully terminated, and the rancheria's assets were not distributed, in accordance with..." the Rancheria Act.

The ancestors and some surviving members of the Wilton Rancheria lived for many years on their land bordering the Cosumnes River until 1958. The tribal members are descendants of the Plains Miwok who lived in the Sacramento Valley.