The Mescalero Apache Nation announced its opposition to an off-reservation casino for Jemez Pueblo.

The Mescalero Apache Nation operates a casino on its reservation in southern New Mexico. The tribe said the Jemez project intrudes on Apache ancestral territory.

"Jemez Pueblo's attempt to engage in off-reservation gaming in Anthony, some 300 miles from its ancestral homelands, certainly is not what Congress envisioned when it passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act," the tribe said in a joint statement with Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino, a non-Indian facility.

"In fact, Jemez Pueblo's proposed casino is an intrusion in that Anthony is within the ancestral homelands of Mescalero Apache Tribal peoples," the statement continued.

The Bush administration rejected the Jemez casino but the Obama administration has started the review process again. The state governor will have veto authority over the project.

Get the Story:
Anthony casino plans get new foe (The Las Cruces Sun-News 10/7)
Mescalero Apaches, Sunland Park oppose Jemez casino (The El Paso Times 10/7)
Apache tribe battles Jemez, Peters casino (The Santa Fe New Mexican 10/7)
Mescalero Apaches object to proposed Jemez casino (AP 10/7)

Relevant Documents:
Secretary Salazar Memo on Gaming Land Applications | Press Release: Interior Details Path Forward on Indian Gaming Policy

Related Stories:
Mayor backs Jemez Pueblo's proposal for off-reservation casino (9/22)
New Mexico candidates hesitant on Pueblo off-reservation casino (7/30)
Non-Indian race track against New Mexico off-reservation casino (7/28)
Off-reservation casino developer expects a 'complicated process' (7/27)
BIA reviews off-reservation casino denied by Bush administration (7/26)