Coyote Point Casino
The saga of Jim McBride, a feckless adjunct professor who, faced with the elimination of his teaching position, conveniently rediscovers his tribal ancestry and secures an endowed chair in his university’s Native American Studies program. With the encouragement of program director Billy Littlefeather—a Brooklyn-born Italian-American former bit player in TV westerns passing himself off as a full-blooded Sioux—McBride becomes deeply involved in efforts to restore federal recognition of his Northern California tribe so that it can act as a front for Littlefeather’s shady casino developer associates. In the process, he gets entangled in local and academic politics, involved in a steamy affair with a faded child star who latches on to trendy causes to resurrect her career, confronts seriously conflicted progressive activists on both sides of the issue, mob pressure, murder and has to deal with the implications of a significant archaeological find that threatens to derail the entire enterprise.
The Story Behind This Book
Based loosely on the real-life circumstances surrounding the restoration of the Miwok tribal group in Northern California-and subsequent efforts to launch a gaming establishment-Coyote Point Casino is the story of Jim McBride, a feckless adjunct professor who, faced with the elimination of his job, conveniently rediscovers his tribal ancestry and secures an endowed chair in his university's Native American Studies program. With the encouragement of the program's director Billy Littlefeather, a Brooklyn-born imposter and former TV western bit player, McBride becomes entangled in efforts to restore federal recognition for his tribe so that it can act as a front for shady casino developers. In the process, Jim gets involved with local and academic politics, a faded child star who latches onto trendy causes to resurrect her career, seriously conflicted environmental activists on both sides of the issue, and a significant archeological find that threatens to derail the entire enterprise. NOTE: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The recent release of this book and the grand opening of the GRATON RESORT & CASINO in Rohnert Park, California was ENTIRELY COINCIDENTAL (but quite serendipitous. . .)