The Chicken Ranch Tribe of Me-Wuk Indians historically flourished as a relatively moderate sized community of Me-Wuk Natives in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The Tribe's original hunting and gathering territories stretched from the Table Mountain area of New Melones to the rolling hills of the lower Red Hills area. The proliferation of the land by mining and logging operations over the past 150-plus years, intertwined with western settlers purchasing repatriated land in the area, the historical territory of the Tribe was reduced to their current 2.85 acre parcel just below the south eastern face of Table Mountain.
In 1985 the Chicken Ranch Band of Me-Wuk Indians received Federal Recognition as an autonomous Native American Tribe of California. In efforts to be economically self sustaining, the Tribe opened one of the first Native bingo halls in the state of California. Since 1985 it has expanded the bingo hall into a casino, medical clinic, and hotel, as well as a new Tribal Government building which oversees operations and policy of the organization as a whole.
The Chicken Ranch Tribe of Me-Wuk Indians are dedicated to provide an empowering and enlightening environment for current and future generations of this Tribe, whilst acknowledging that our local non-native community is also a cherished vessel of friends, family, and cohorts.
