BIA reviews off-reservation casino denied by Bush administration

Monday, July 26, 2010  

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is reconsidering an off-reservation casino that was rejected by the Bush administration, The Las Cruces Sun-News reports.

Jemez Pueblo submitted a land-into-trust application for a casino in southern New Mexico. The site is about 300 miles from the reservation.

The tribe was in the middle of an environmental review process when the former head of the BIA killed the application on the grounds that the site was too far away. But that decision violated administrative procedures, according to the Obama administration.

"The application is moving forward because there's a new administration and new people in the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Interior Department," Ruben Smith, a former mayor of Las Cruces who is working on the project, told the paper.

The new administration has not overturned or rescinded the Bush policy that led to the rejection of the casino. But a memo issued in June instructs the BIA to move forward on land-into-trust applications on a case-by-case basis.

Get the Story:
Anthony casino proposal returns (The Las Cruces Sun-News 7/26)

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