The Bishop Tribal Chairman and Walmart Corporation are denying the rumor that the mega-store will be coming to the Bishop Paiute Reservation. File photo

By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
1-21-2010

Despite persistent rumors of a Walmart popping up on the Bishop Paiute Reservation, Tribal Chairman Bill Vega is insistent that the rumor is not true.
On Wednesday, Vega reiterated comments from an interview Monday, saying, “We haven’t talked to Walmart.”
A Walmart Corporation representative confirmed as much on Tuesday, saying, “We do not have a project for the Bishop or Paiute Reservation area, but we are always looking for opportunities to expand our services to our customers in California ... We continue to look for opportunities to be able to do that.”
There are some reports circulated in the community that “permits have been pulled” by the Tribe and the mega-store is only a few infrastructure glitches away from a groundbreaking.
However, the sovereign and autonomous Bishop Paiute Tribe is not mandated to, and does not need to, apply for permits for a commercial development on the reservation, as is the case with all tribes, according to Bureau of Indian Affairs Pacific Region Housing Program Director Benjamin Charley, Jr.
Jon Michener of the Inyo County Building and Safety Department also confirmed that the Tribe has not filed and does not have to file any permits with the county, as the county has no jurisdiction on federal lands. He added that he had not heard anything about a Walmart or any other stores going in on the Reservation, other than the unsubstantiated rumors.
Vega added that the rumored location of a Walmart, the land behind the Paiute Palace Casino, basically belongs to several “assignment holders” already and to acquire that land could take a long time.