Fort Sill Apache Tribe seeks delay in casino fight

Monday, July 27, 2009  

TheFort Sill Apache Tribe is asking the National Indian Gaming Commission not to take further action on its casino in New Mexico until President Barack Obama can put his mark on the agency.

The tribe plans to appeal a notice of violation that the NIGC issued last week. The agency says the Apache Homelands Entertainment Center does not qualify for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

But with the NIGC missing one member, the tribe is worried that Hogen will unfairly affect the outcome of an appeal. Hogen, a Bush appointee, and Norm DesRosiers, another Bush appointee, have been the only officials at the agency for more than a year.

"If there was a fully seated commission, there might be the possibility of an impartial review, but as it stands, there is absolutely no way for the panel to override your opinion. At best it would be a tie," Fort Sill Apache Chairman Jeff Houser said in a letter to Hogen on Sunday. " Under the current circumstances, I have no faith that our appeal, should there be one, will be heard with impartiality."

Obama has yet to formally nominate a replacement for Hogen, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, but the White House is vetting someone, according to a source close to the administration. Hogen has publicly said he is eager to leave.

Obama hasn't named a third member for the commission either. And DesRosiers, who is non-Indian, is expected to leave the NIGC when his three-year term ends in January 2010.

"Because of these actions our sovereign rights are in jeopardy and I would hope that given my concerns with the process of the NOV itself that you would delay the review of our appeal until a full commission is seated," Houser said in his letter.

Under IGRA, the tribe has 30 days to file an appeal of the NOV, which was issued on July 21.

Relevant Documents:
Fort Sill Apache Letter (July 26, 2009) | Notice of Violation: Fort Sill Apache Tribe (July 21, 2009)