Mohawks anxiously await off-reservation casino

Thursday, February 22, 2007  

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York is no stranger to gaming but tribal members see an off-reservation casino taking them to another level.

Chief Lorraine White said revenues from the casino in the Catskills will help the tribe become more self-sufficient. The tribe's budget will double by two or three, she said.

Minerva White is hopeful that the casino will bring change to the reservation, hundreds of miles from the Catskills site. "We need to ensure it's used for good purposes: housing, healthcare, education. And we need to make sure we can handle the debt," she told The New York Sun.

Chief White expects the Interior Department to approve the tribe's land-into-trust application "within months" although a lawsuit and the slow-moving process could delay the decision.

Get the Story:
Mohawk Chief Is Counting on the Casino (The New York Sun 2/22)
Federal approval of casino is not imminent, says BIA (The Mid-Hudson News Network 2/22)