Echo Hawk rejects off-reservation casino for New Mexico tribe

Friday, September 2, 2011  

The Obama administration has rejected an off-reservation casino for Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico.

The tribe wants to build a casino in Anthony, near the Texas border. The site is more than 300 miles from the reservation.

According to a fact sheet from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk said he was concerned about two issues: the tribe's ability to exercise authority over the gaming site and the distance from the reservation.

"With the Pueblo of Jemez, we had significant concerns about the Tribe’s ability to effectively exercise jurisdiction over a parcel nearly 300 miles from its existing reservation," Echo Hawk said in a press release.

The tribe suffers a high unemployment rate on its remote reservation in central New Mexico.

Get the Story:
BIA rejects by Jemez Pueblo to build off-reservation casino in Anthony (AP 9/2)

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