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Lower Brule Sioux Tribe submits off-reservation casino bid

Thursday, May 23, 2013

The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is asking the Obama administration to approve an off-reservation casino.

The tribe wants to build a $34 million casino on a 91-acre site that was taken into trust in 2011. The site is only five miles from the exterior border of the reservation, the Associated Press reports.

Despite the close distance, the tribe's request will be processed under the two-part determination provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. If the Bureau of Indian Affairs approves the casino, it will go to Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R).

Daugaard hasn't stated his position. A spokesperson said he will wait until the BIA makes a decision.

"He will wait until that step and then consider the information that's been complied, but he doesn't feel it's appropriate to make any kind of signal prior to that point in the process," the spokesperson told the AP.

In the history of IGRA, only three tribes have completed both steps of the two-part determination process. If successful, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe would be the first in South Dakota with an off-reservation casino.

Since 2009, the Obama administration has approved two two-part determination applications in California. In both cases, the governor concurred.

The administration also approved an off-reservation casino in Michigan. The governor has not made a decision yet.

Another two-part determination, for a tribe in New Mexico, was rejected by the administration.

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Lower Brule Sioux Tribe asks approval of SD casino (AP 5/23)