The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) want to meet Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to discuss the tribe's off-reservation casino proposal.

The tribe wants to open a casino in the Catskills, more than 500 miles from the reservation. The project has the support of the local community and Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D).

But Kempthorne has yet to make a ruling on the tribe's land-into-trust request. The tribe and Schumer want a face-to-face meeting to make the case for the casino.

When he was governor of Idaho, Kempthorne rejected requests for off-reservation casinos.

Get the Story:
Schumer’s office trying to show Kempthorne why Sullivan casino should fly (The Mid-Hudson News Network 8/6)
Spitzer and tribe push on casino (The Middletown Times Herald-Record 8/5)