Sen. Bingaman questions Fort Sill Apache casino

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) is asking the Bush administration to explain why the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma is building a casino in southern New Mexico.

Bingaman said the tribe agreed not to use the land for gaming when the land-into-trust application was filed in April 1999. The Bureau of Indian Affairs subsequently acquired the land in July 2001.

But now that the tribe is building a Class II facility, Bingaman said additional federal approval is needed [PDF: Letter]. Chairman Jeff Houser, however, claims the 30-acre site can be used for gaming since it's already in trust.

The site is about 750 miles away from the tribe's headquarters in Apache, Oklahoma.

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