Indianz.Com Listening Lounge, Senate Indian Affairs Committee oversight hearing on Lands eligible for gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, July 27, 2005. Note: All files in MP3 format. Intro - 5:18 - 938k Vitter, Voinovich - 22:40 - 3.89MB Panel I - 35:00 - 6.00MB | Q&A - 20:17 - 3.48MB Panel II - 32:10 - 5.52MB Q&A - 21:26 - 3.67MB • Witness List

Eastern Shawnee Chief Charles D. Enyart responded to criticism of his tribe's efforts to return home to the state of Ohio at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

Enyart said the tribe, based in Oklahoma, is not trying to blackmail Ohio with a large land claim. He said the tribe only filed its lawsuit recently because it lacked the resources to do so for the past 100 years.

Enyart said the eventual goal of the lawsuit is to negotiate a gaming compact with the state. The tribe's efforts were criticized at the hearing by Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who tried to insert, but later withdrew, a rider against off-reservation gaming.

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe has negotiated deals with four communities who want to host a casino. Cleveland, however, is not one of them although the tribe did meet with Mayor Jane Campbell to talk about gaming.

The mayor has since begun her own casino drive -- independent of the tribe -- yet Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), the chairman of the committee, keeps mentioning a casino in "downtown Cleveland" in his criticism of off-reservation gaming.

Get the Story:
Shawnee chief, Voinovich trade arguments on Ohio casinos (The Cleveland Plain-Dealer 7/28)

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