The Fort Sill Apache Reservation in southern New Mexico. Photo © Fort Sill Apache Tribe.
The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is disputing a provision in a new Class III gaming compact negotiated by Gov. Susana Martinez (R). The provision states that gaming can only on occur on lands that were in trust prior to 1988. That runs counter to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which contains several exceptions that allow gaming on newly acquired lands. "Our tribe would support this compact without reservation if it did not contain language that excludes us," Fort Sill Apache Chairman Jeff Haozous said in a letter to other tribes in the state, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Haozous said the tribe has submitted compacts to Martinez but she refuses to sign them. Her office, meanwhile, points out that the tribe's lands have not been determined to be eligible for gaming. "Fort Sill has asked the federal government, yet again, for permission to game and has not received that approval," the governor's deputy chief of staff said in a statement to The New Mexican. "It is premature to ask the governor for a gaming compact when the federal government still says Fort Sill is not eligible." The tribe has a reservation in the southern part of the state. The land was placed in trust in 2002 but the tribe believes it qualifies for an exception in Section 20 of IGRA. The National Indian Gaming Commission has said the reservation can't be used for gaming. The tribe is suing in federal court to overturn that determination. The compact with the 1988 provision was negotiated with a handful of tribes. It has not yet been submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs but a gaming official in the agency's Washington, D.C., office has already questioned the legality of the provision. Get the Story:
Fort Sill Apache leader predicts feds will toss gaming compact that excludes tribe (The Santa Fe New Mexican 2/5) Related Stories:
BIA questions provision in compact for some New Mexico tribes (01/27)
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