"In fighting the Eklutna Natives' Indian gambling proposal, House Speaker John Harris and Sen. President Lyda Green have reopened an old wound. They are using Eklutna's gambling application to question the federal government's long-standing decision to recognize tribes in Alaska. The two Alaska leaders are flogging a settled question to no good end.

Concern about legalizing large-scale Indian gaming in Alaska is legitimate, but fighting federal recognition of Alaska tribes is not the way to resist. That's like trying to fight a new Wal-Mart by attacking the company's very right to exist as a corporation.

The letter from Rep. Harris and Sen. Green is a hurtful attack on a well-settled point in federal Indian policy. Questioning federal tribal recognition strikes at the very heart of Native identity. It's a weapon that has no place in the dispute over potential Indian gambling in Eklutna."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Legislative leaders pick the wrong way to oppose gambling (The Anchorage Daily News in the Juneau Empire 5/21)
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