The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has offered to help tribes with a 25% contribution effort from the tribes. Small Business Association (SBA) loans were offered to companies at first who had to shut down their operations during the pandemic but Soboba didn’t qualify based on its amount of employees, which exceeded 500. The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to support local tribes during its meeting on May 19 to discuss reopening more businesses while trying to balance the community’s physical health and financial wellbeing. “Most likely, there will be a long period of adjustment as the public gets back to work, school and recreation as it used to be.” “This is the current situation, and no one knows exactly how or when things will return to what they once were,” said Soboba Tribal Chairman Isaiah Vivanco. However, the allocations were based on Native American tribe populations, which hurt California’s Native Americans as tribe sizes are much smaller in this state. At first, the Federal government’s CARES Act seemed like it would provide enough funding to keep all the tribe’s essential departments afloat. Revenue from the Soboba Casino Resort funds all the tribe’s programs and services, from its public safety and public works departments to the reservation’s schools.

Tribal Council members have been meeting continuously to gauge all the pros and cons to taking this next step. When the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians made the decision to reopen its casino on May 27, it was not done lightly. While there is still concern about the coronavirus, measures have been implemented to provide heightened safety for all. Golf courses reopened at the end of April and Soboba Springs Golf Course has had sold-out tee times since then. As many businesses throughout Riverside County slowly start to reopen, there are a lot of residents that are relieved they can start enjoying past fun activities.

Ois the new soboba casino open