Tribes hopeful with reversal on off-reservation gaming policy

Wednesday, June 15, 2011  

Tribes in New York and Wisconsin are hopeful that their off-reservation gaming proposals will get a fair shake with the Obama administration.

In January 2008, the Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a "guidance memorandum" that placed greater scrutiny on tribes that seek land away from existing reservations. But Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk rescinded the controversial policy because he said it was "unnecessary."

“This is another positive step forward for Indian gaming, and in our tribe’s case, can help bring thousands of jobs to Long Island and keep millions in revenue here in New York,” Randy King, the chairman of the board of trustees for the Shinnecock Nation of New York, told The New York Times.

The Menominee Nation of Wisconsin was one of the tribes whose proposal was rejected under the Bush document. The tribe now has a shot at success, an attorney said.

"It's certainly the best news we've had in years," Rory Dilweg told The Milwuakee Journal Sentinel "It breathes new life in the tribe's effort."

Echo Hawk's decision doesn't mean it will be easy for tribes to acquire land for off-reservation casinos. In the history of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, only three tribes have successfully opened casinos away from existing reservations under the two-part determination section of the law.

But it removes a significant hurdle from the process. The 2008 memo created a new test to determine whether a gaming site was within "commutable" distance from an existing reservation.

The Bush policy essentially killed all off-reservation gaming projects that were more than 40 miles away from an existing reservation.

Get the Story:
Casino Developments Get a Boost (The Wall Street Journal 6/15)
In Shift, Interior Dept. May Allow Tribes to Build Casinos Far From Reservations (The New York Times 6/15)
Casino advocates hopeful (The Middletown Times Herald-Record 6/15)
Blanket ban on off-reservation gaming lifted (Mid-Hudson News Network 6/15)
Rule change means tribal effort to open Kenosha casino may move forward (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 6/15)
Capitol Confidential: Schumer bugged DOI and it reverses itself (The Albany Times-Union 6/14)
Capitol Confidential: Interior department reversing Indian gaming ruling (The Albany Times-Union 6/14)
Feds ditch rule that foiled Indian tribes’ plans for off-reservation casino in Catskills (AP 6/14)

Bush Administration Off-Reservation Gaming Policy:
Guidance on taking off-reservation land into trust for gaming purposes (January 3, 2008)

Related Stories:
Echo Hawk pulls controversial off-reservation gaming memo (6/14)

From the Indianz.Com Archive:
BIA starts new year with off-reservation gaming policy (1/7)
Rejected tribes want casinos too far from reservations (1/7)