Column: Sen. Feinstein wants to halt expansion of tribal gaming

Friday, December 3, 2010  

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has proposed changes in federal law that would make it harder for Indian tribes without land to open casinos.

The changes proposed by Feinstein, California’s senior senator, would make it tougher for tribes to take new lands into trust.

The change could have implications for just about any tribe that wants to build a casino in an urban area.

According to an article in the Sacramento, Calif.,-based Capitol Weekly, Feinstein’s changes would force an Indian tribe to show both a “substantial direct aboriginal connection to the land” and “substantial direct modern one.”

Tribes have argued a historical connection to lands they wish to acquire and use for gaming. Showing a current connection to empty urban land may be more difficult."

Get the Story:
Inside Gaming by Howard Stutz: Feinstein attepting to halt Indian gaming expansion (The Las Vegas Review-Journal 12/3)

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