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Senator Considers Hearings on Tribal Casino

COLORADO –- As reported by the Denver Post: "Retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell says he is strongly considering conducting oversight hearings on a request by two Oklahoma Indian tribes to build a casino in Colorado.

"The move by Colorado's senior senator, who is chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, would enable all sides of the highly contentious casino proposal to present their arguments in the nation's capital for the federal record.

"The Bureau of Indian Affairs has never approved a tribal casino outside a state where a tribe resides.

"The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, which operate under tribal government, last week filed a claim with the U.S. Department of the Interior to 27 million acres in northeastern Colorado as part of their traditional homeland but said they were willing to exchange that claim for 500 acres.

"…Hearings conducted by Campbell could create a basis for possible future legislation, particularly if Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who is from Colorado, turns down the tribes' request…"

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