Trust
Inhofe asked to stop gaming on newly acquired lands


Three Connecticut towns are asking Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) to stop tribes from opening gaming facilities on newly acquired trust lands.

The leaders of North Stonington, Ledyard and Preston say the land-into-trust process is out of control. They say tribes are "reservation shopping" hundreds of miles away from their current locations and even in other states.

Inhofe said he would look into the issue after an Oklahoma paper ran a story about the Chickasaw Nation. The tribe has been able to skirt a lengthy review process involving gaming on newly acquired lands by telling the Bureau of Indian Affairs it doesn't plan on using the land for casinos. Only later does the tribe use the land for gaming.

Get the Story:
Towns Enlist Senator's Help Against Tribal Trust Practices (The New London Day 12/8)
pwday

Related Stories:
NIGC eases stance on off-reservation casinos (12/8)
McCaleb calls Chickasaws savvy, not deceptive (10/26)
Official tells Chickasaw land-into-trust tactics (10/25)
Cole says Chickasaw Nation made promises on land (09/16)
BIA approves compact for gaming on former reservation (03/25)
Chickasaw Nation land purchases quadruple (03/23)
Hogen says Okla. tribes skirting federal gaming law (05/19)
Indian gaming law not always followed (5/14)
Okla. tribe leaps over Indian gaming hurdles (04/23)
Chickasaw Nation 'followed the law' (6/28)
Tribe's land approvals questioned (6/11)