Artist's rendering
of the proposed West
Valley Resort. Image from Tohono O'odham
NationThe Tohono O'odham Nation told a fellow tribe it was interested in an off-reservation casino more than a decade ago, Chairman Ned Norris said. Norris said the tribe brought up the idea to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in the mid-1990s. A site was finally purchased in 2003 with funds from the Gila Bend Indian Reservation Replacement Lands Act. "Today was a day that was a long time in coming," Norris said when the tribe broke ground on the $500 million West Valley Resort in August, KJZZ reported. "The result of a long struggle." The Salt River Tribe, however, remains opposed to the casino. President Diane Enos said it violates a promise made to voters who approved a gaming referendum in 2002. "The proposal by the Tohono O’odham Nation’s West Valley Casino is a direct violation of the spirit of the compact," Enos told KJZZ. The federal and state courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Opponents are now pushing Congress to pass the Keep the Promise Act (S.2670 and H.R.1410) to prevent the tribe from using the site for gaming. Get the Story:
Analysts Say Questions Over West Valley Casino Could Take Years To Settle (KJZZ 10/20) Related Stories:
Rivals funded DC trips to oppose Tohono O'odham Nation casino (09/30)
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