BIA rejects compact for Ewiiaapaayp casino

Tuesday, March 25, 2008  

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has rejected a Class III gaming compact for the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians in California.

The compact stated that the tribe would operate a casino on the Viejas Reservation. The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians would share get a share of the revenues.

But George Skibine, the head of the BIA's Office of Indian Gaming Management, said the Viejas Reservation is not considered to be the "Indian lands" of the Ewiiaapaayp Band. So he rejected the compact.

“Indian lands described in the (compact) are not now Indian lands of the tribe, and thus cannot be the subject of a compact between the tribe and the state,” Skibine wrote, Copley News Service reported.

Up until 2005, the BIA never looked at the Indian lands issue when considering a compact. The Bush administration adopted a new policy -- without consulting tribes -- that makes it harder to open casinos away from existing reservations.

Get the Story:
Rejection of compact may halt casino venture (Copley News Service 3/25)