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Tribe Faces Many Hurdles

JEMEZ, New Mexico -- Jemez Pueblo wants to open a casino in southern New Mexico, but the tribe is finding out that off-reservation ventures are facing increased opposition.

The pueblo and Santa Fe art dealer Gerald Peters have an option to buy a privately owned parcel of land at a busy location next to Interstate 10 between Las Cruces and El Paso, Texas.

The pueblo is seeking to put 78 acres of the property into federal trust. Peters is an investor in the project.

In 2004, the pueblo submitted a trust application to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs regional office in Albuquerque. If approved, the land would become part of the Jemez reservation.

But the tribe could be looking at a long battle to get the initiative approved, according to gambling and tribal experts.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, is considering introducing an amendment to the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to ban or restrict off-reservation development projects. The measure would prohibit tribes from acquiring land in another state for gambling operations.

Copyright © Las Vegas Sun. Inc. Republished with permission.

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