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Louisiana Legislators Fear New Indian Casinos

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – As reported by the Louisiana Town Talk: "With three state and federally recognized Indian tribes now operating casinos and a fourth tribe seeking a compact with Gov. Kathleen Blanco to open another gambling operation, state lawmakers are leery of granting state recognition to more tribes.

"However, they should not be afraid of granting state recognition, said Nedra Darling of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. It is federal recognition that authorizes casino gambling.

"…Included in the seven requirements: having been recognized as an Indian entity continuously since 1900; a large portion of the group lives in a community 'from historical times to the present;' continual tribal governance; a set membership criteria, the membership descends from an historical Indian tribe; the members don't belong to an already recognized tribe; and Congress has not cancelled national recognition.

"In the legislative session that ended Monday, a Senate concurrent resolution was approved granting state recognition to four small groups so they could get federal education funds. The groups recently broke away from the United Houma Nation in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes and formerly received funds as part of the state-recognized tribe.

"…Sen. Reggie Dupre's resolution grants state recognition to the Isle de Jean Charles Band, the Bayou Lafourche Band, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band and the Pointe-au-Chien Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees.

"…While the proposal by Dupre, D-Houma, gained relatively easy approval, a resolution granting state recognition to a larger group in Northeast Louisiana so it could seek federal approval was rejected. Another resolution seeking similar approval of a tribe in the Lake Charles area was withdrawn because of strong sentiment against approving more tribes.

"…The reasons expressed by senators for opposing the non-education resolutions focus on a central theme - fear of having another casino in Louisiana that pays nothing to the state and takes money away from state-regulated casinos…"

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