Ewiiaapaayp Band won't deny interest in casino

Monday, June 29, 2009  

The Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians won't deny that is interested in building an off-reservation casino in southern California.

But the tribe says its land-into-trust application for 16 acres is not about gaming. Plans call for a medical and day-care center.

“The purpose of it is economic development,” tribal chief executive Willie Micklin told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “It's ineligible for gaming, and it's not tied to any gaming projects because we don't have one.”

Local officials aren't buying the tribe's story. Neither is the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, whose leaders have clashed with the Ewiiaapaayp Band over gaming.

The 16-acre site sits across the road from another Indian health clinic. The Ewiiaapaayp Band says it has a right to build a casino at the existing clinic.

Get the Story:
Tribe says clinic plan not about gambling (The San Diego Union-Tribune 6/27)