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OCTOBER 2, 2000

The Torres-Martinez Band of Desert Cahuilla are still trying to negotiate a gaming compact with the state of California, but for some reason, they say its being held up.

The tribe's settlement act is near passage. It would settle the tribe's outstanding land claims which resulted from the flooding of the Salton Sea.

It also gives the remote tribe the right to purchase land on which to operate a casino. To offer Class III, or Vegas-style gaming, they would need to negotiate a compact with the state, but their compact has been up in the air for at least nine months, despite the signing of some 60 other compacts and the passage of Proposition 1A earlier this year.

The bill was passed by the House. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs approved the bill out of committee last week, although Senators Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Harry Reid (D-Nevada) both said a deal between the tribe and the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians to limit where the tribe could place a casino could infringes on the tribe's sovereignty.

Get the Story:
State entangles Torres-Martinez deal (The Palm Spring Desert-Sun 10/2)

Related Stories:
Torres-Martinez bill passes House (Tribal Law 09/19)
Cabazon drop opposition to bill (Tribal Law 07/27)