RESERVATION SHOPPING: "Earlier this year, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthrone dealt a spanking to all tribes with dreams of an off-reservation casino. Don't bet on approval, he told 42 tribes seeking casinos, including The St. Regis Mohawks, who want to build a casino at the Monticello Gaming & Raceway. In reality the Mohawks are caught in a backlash that is not of their making. The Mohawks submitted their original application for a casino at the track in 1999, the oldest on the books. In 2005 and 2006, though, tribes flooded the BIA with off-reservation proposals, attempting to beat new federal rules that might rule out any casino beyond 50 miles of the tribe's reservation. California has the most.."

BIA NOMINEE: "[Carl] Artman, a former lobbyist for the Wisconsin Oneidas, has recused himself from casino proposals in New York or Wisconsin, a BIA spokesman said."

ICT V. THE POST: "Indian Country, a leading American Indian newspaper, is slamming New York metros for "vitriolic hate speech and libelous statements" in attacking the Mohawk project. The newspaper singled out The Post for an article calling attention to smuggling on the reservation and an editorial panning Gov. Eliot Spitzer's decision to approve the casino."

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Casino Roulette: Mohawks were first in line (The Middleton Times Herald-Record 3/10)