Redding Rancheria is embarking on a couple of very ambitious and expensive projects. One of them is well known. The enormous new Win River Casino to be built between Interstate Five and the Sacramento River just south of Bonneyview received the go-ahead from the Bureau of Indian Affairs earlier this year. Neither the projected cost nor the timeline for construction has been revealed. The tribe’s other major plan is shrouded in mystery and was announced during Tuesday’s “State of the Tribe” luncheon at the Win River Event Center. They’re calling it a “health village”, an elaborate 190,000 square-foot healthcare and fitness facility with a cost, location and groundbreaking date that have yet to be revealed. During Tuesday’s event CEO Tracy Edwards reviewed some of the struggles the tribe has had through the maltreatment inflicted by the U.S. Government over the last century and a half, and touted some of the achievements that have given them prosperity and hope for their future. Edwards didn’t shy away from controversy as she addressed the criticism given the recent long-term contract the Rancheria hammered out with the County, as well as the attempts by the City of Redding to block access to the land on which the new casino will be built. There’s little doubt that the tribe’s contributions to the community at large cannot be denied as they move forward with pride and purpose on the lands occupied by their ancestors long before the rest of us showed up.
-Steve Gibson