SEARCH NEWS:

 

Governors, Tribal Leaders Meet

COLORADO – As reported by the Denver Post: "Gov. Bill Owens brought 10 state governors and leaders from 23 tribes to Denver on Tuesday to look at ways Congress might improve the 17-year- old Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

"A leading concern is a trend by isolated American Indian tribes to try to locate casinos off their reservations, near big cities and interstates, by claiming ancestral lands lost long ago.

"Owens, who opposes a proposal by the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma to build a casino near Denver International Airport on a fragment of their historic homeland, said he could speak for all 50 governors on one matter.

"…Tribes that want to take land into trust for off-reservation casinos must win the consent of the secretary of interior and the state governor. But some tribes have sought and won direct congressional grants of trust lands eligible for Indian gambling operations.

"…Stuwart Paisano, governor of the Pueblo of Sandia, which has a casino near Albuquerque, said gambling has had a very positive impact on reservations, providing jobs, educational opportunities, housing and basic infrastructure. Paisano said the summit is a historic event, promising effective communication between state and tribal governments…."

< Gaming News