Fort Sill Apache chair criticizes New Mexico governor

Tuesday, May 27, 2008  

The Fort Sill Apache Tribe has a right to open a casino in New Mexico, Chairman Jeff Houser said.

The tribe owns 30 acres in southern New Mexico. The land was placed in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

But New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) has sent state troopers to the site to block gaming activity. He contends the site can't be used for a casino under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

A legal opinion from the National Indian Gaming Commission supported that view. But Chairman Houser said the ruling isn't the only, or final, step in the process.

"By applauding the advisory opinion of the National Indian Gaming Commission and referring to the project at Akela as an ‘illegal casino’ the Governor is not only helping to spread a categorical inaccuracy but a slanderous insult as well. Though the casino is still in the process of obtaining federal approvals it is, by no means, illegal nor is the opinion of one advisory commission a binding federal agency action," Houser said.

The tribe is waiting on a decision from the BIA to declare the site as a reservation. That would pave the way for gaming, though former assistant secretary Carl Artman, who resigned on Friday, has indicated that environmental reviews would have to be conducted.