Robinson Rancheria

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Robinson Rancheria is the home of primarily Pomo people. They also have some Athabascan or Dene People, and Algonquin people including the Wappo, Wiyot, Yuki, and Yurok. They are located in Lake County on the northwestern edge of Clear Lake in Northern California.

Official Tribal Name: Robinson Rancheria

Address: P.O. Box 4015, Nice, CA 95464
Phone: 707.275.0527
Fax: 707.275.0235
Email: tavilia@robinsonrancheria.org

Official Website: www.robinsonrancheria.org

Recognition Status: Federally Recognized

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Formerly known as the Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, California and the Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians

of California.

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Region: California

State(s) Today: California

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Reservation: Robinson Rancheria and Off-Reservation Trust Land

Robinson Rancheria
Land Area:  The location of the largest acreage of Robinson Rancheria’s land base is approximately 107 acres.  Most of the tribal property lies adjacent to State Highway 20 between the small communities of Upper Lake and Nice. 

The site was purchased in 1981, as a result of a unique set of circumstances stemming from a settlement agreement between members of the Robinson Rancheria and the United States government (Mabel Duncan, et.al. v. United States of America, 667 F. 2nd 36 (Ct. Cl. 1981).  The court case held that the U.S. government illegally terminated the reservation status of the Indians at Old Robinson in 1956. Based on the cited court case, federal recognition was reinstated in the 1960s.
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Registered Population Today: About 477 members.

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Government: In the 1978, the Robinson Rancheria organized a tribal government and adopted a Tribal Constitution in 1980.

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Number of Council members:   3 members-at-large, plus executive officers
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Number of Executive Officers:  Tribal Chairman, Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer

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Number of fluent Speakers: In 1956, ninety percent of the tribal members were relocated to urban areas as part of the termination process.  This caused a generation of cultural heritage to be shamefully repressed, and then lost to the next two generations.  As a result tradition, culture, and language were almost lost. 

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Housing: In the old days, the Pomo lived in brush covered wikiups. During 1985, 41 housing units were constructed on land acquired through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  A large number of tribal members now reside on the rancheria.

Subsistance: The Pomo were hunter gatherers. Their staple food was acorns. They also hunted small game and harvested other roots and berries.

Economy Today: The Robinson Rancheria owns a resort and casino, an RV park and marina, a recycling plant, and a smoke shop. Most members are employed in tribal government or tribal enterprises.

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Bloody Island Massacre 

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