Scripps Howard News Service

State lawmakers have said the Winnemem Wintu Tribe should be recognized again by the federal government.

But leaders of the small band of American Indians in northern California said the call will only be ceremonial unless it is heard by members of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., and the tribe gains recognition once again with the federal government.

The status would bring federal aid for health care and housing, reserving 42 acres that was once the site of a tribal village in Jones Valley near Lake Shasta as trust land, and sovereignty for the tribe of 123 people, said Mark Franco, the tribe's headman.

"Having the federal recognition restored will allow us that government-to-government status," Franco said.

He said the tribe had federal recognition until it was dropped from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs' books by a "clerical error" in the mid-1980s.

Introduced last year by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, Assembly Joint Resolution 39 urges Congress to correct the oversight and restore recognition. The resolution passed though the Assembly last month and Senate last week.

"California has sent a clear message today: Our state stands in solidarity with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe to correct a terrible injustice by the federal government," Huffman said.

Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, and Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, who represent the north state, both voted against the resolution, Franco said.

While critics of the tribe's effort for recognition said it is an attempt to get into the casino business, Caleen Sisk-Franco, the tribe's chief, said it has no such plans. She said the tribe has been approached by groups that help regain status and build gaming halls, but the tribe declined the offers.

"If we were seeking a casino, we would have one already," she said.

(Contact Dylan Darling of the Redding Record Searchlight in California at ddarling(at)redding.com)