Northern Arapaho Tribe blasts state on gaming

Monday, November 7, 2005  

The Northern Arapaho Tribe is accusing Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) of backing out of his promise to respect the tribe's gaming victory.

The tribe's right to offer the "full gamut" of Class III gaming has been affirmed by the courts. Freudenthal and other state officials responded that they wouldn't appeal the case.

But the state is now trying to reopen the case by trying to force the tribe to negotiate a compact. The court case had found the state was negotiating in "bad faith" by refusing to recognize the tribe's rights.

"We have learned not to take the governor's public statements at face value," Normal Willow, a tribal council member, said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press. "He's announced that the gaming case is done, the state has lost, and now he'll uphold the law. He's said he would not fight us anymore. But now he's back in court again to fight the one proven tool for jobs and economic development in Indian Country."

Get the Story:
Arapaho gaming compact unsettled (AP 11/5)