The continuing story
of Indian country for this year and maybe next is the "off reservation"
debate. Is it possible within the limits of the National Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act for an Indian tribe to open and operate a casino on land
not part of or contiguous to its federally recognized tribal trust land?
The simple answer is no; the land on which an Indian tribe operates
a casino under the NIGRA must be part of the tribe's reservation (trust
land). However, it is possible to obtain and place into trust land that
was not part of the original reservation; if the intended use for such
a parcel of land is gaming, then a specific process must be followed.
In recent years, Indian gaming has been seen as a solution to economic
revitalization for many communities. Many cities have approached a tribe
and offered an opportunity to operate a casino in exchange for something
the city wants or needs. As well, many rural tribes looking for a better
location to operate a casino have approached cities and suggested a
mutually beneficial relationship. Up to this point, there have been
very few successful attempts to create an "off reservation"
urban casino. Still the possibility has drawn a great deal of criticism,
including a current congressional inquiry and a handful of legislative
proposals to eliminate the possibility.
Every month has
a few stories on sovereignty and off reservation gaming. The stories
can roughly be divided into two categories; the places and people who
support allowing a tribe to move into town and those who opposite the
idea, such as the two stories of support from California.
Las Vegas-style
gambling in the heart of Orange County, a longshot possibility previously
dismissed as too controversial, is up for reconsideration in Garden
Grove as a new source of city revenue. When it meets Tuesday night,
a divided City Council will once again discuss allowing a tribal-owned
casino down the street from Disneyland. Among the five council members,
two say they favor exploring the idea, and two oppose it. The swing
vote rests with the mayor, whose committee to study revenue options
recommended an Indian casino. He said he was willing to at least discuss
it. Dave McKibben, Los Angeles Times, 8-26-05
Casino opponents
are less vocal today about an Indian tribe's plan to build closer
to Rohnert Park than they were two years ago, when the tribe first
chose a site on the city's outskirts. This time, there are no angry
protesters storming City Hall, complaining of Rohnert Park officials'
selling out in backroom deals to the tribe and its Las Vegas partner.
There are no threats of lawsuits or recall elections. There aren't
500 people showing up for a five-hour marathon meeting on the casino
issue, as in August two years ago after the Federated Indians of Graton
Rancheria unveiled plans for a casino resort…City officials said
it appears the tribe's new development plans will require a re-evaluation
of the revenue-sharing agreement. Mackenzie has promised "an
open and transparent public process." Clark Mason, The Press
Democrat, 8-26-05
On the other side,
there is the opposition to Indian casinos moving into town (or the state
in this case) as in this story of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. In Ohio
several mayors and communities think that casinos could help the economy;
they also think that an Indian tribe might be the best option. There
are also a number of tribes that claim Ohio to be their ancestral home
and believe a return to operate a casino is not only good business it
is historic justice. The latest legislation to prevent such developments
comes from Ohio. Ohio is not the only state with significant political
power being put against "off reservation" gaming, California,
Connecticut, Louisiana and New York also have mustered significant resistance.
Ohio's two Republican
senators will push legislation that would keep Indian tribes from
establishing casinos prohibited by the Ohio Constitution. Flanked
by an array of other high- powered gambling opponents at a Tuesday
news conference, U.S. Sen. George Voinovich vowed to keep casino interests
out of the state as he has helped do twice in the last decade. He
said the new bill would clarify a point of law that otherwise might
allow tribes eager to establish casinos to do so even though the state's
constitution prohibits it. Julie Carr Smyth, Cleveland Plain Dealer,
8-31-05
New York is the
center of attention of several other issues related to trust land and
sovereignty. A recent court decision says that New York tribes have
to pay tax on lands taken into trust subsequent to the establishment
of the original reservations. That has led to a number of attempts by
cities and counties to enforce their regulations and taxes on land heretofore
considered to be exempt and sovereign to an Indian tribe. The issue
this month is a smoking regulation, but property taxes, gasoline and
cigarette sales taxes are among the issues in New York. One tribe trying
to gain a foothold in the state (a tribe claiming historical right),
has offered to pay property taxes to prove they are good corporate citizens
of the state. New York is a good case study. There are communities,
such as Buffalo that want Indian gaming, as does the governor, while
at the same time there are communities that definitely do not and use
every legal option available to fight tribes in general and Indian gaming
in particular.
Oneida County
Health Department officials have told the Oneida Indian Nation they
will begin enforcing the state's no-smoking law at one of the few
remaining havens for local smokers - the tribe's Turning Stone Resort
and Casino. County officials say the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in
March clears the way for them to enforce the smoking ban and all other
state and county health codes on nation-owned properties. The high
court ruled March 29 that the nation could not assert sovereignty
over land that has been out of its hands for nearly 200 years. "The
Supreme Court decision . . . indicates, at least by our reading, that
they're subject to regulatory controls," said County Attorney
Randy Caldwell. Glenn Coin, Syracuse Post-Standard, 8-26-05
Seneca-Cayuga
Tribe of Oklahoma leaders returned to their homeland Thursday with
a $70,186.45 check for back taxes in Cayuga County and an economic
development plan that includes casino gambling. Newly elected Chief
Paul Spicer gave the check to county Legislature Chairman Herbert
Marshall and spoke for roughly 30 minutes about the tribe's plans
for the Finger Lakes…is looking to build a full-scale casino
in the Cayuga land-claim area while it tries to forge an economic
development partnership with county and other municipal leaders and
businesses. "Gaming is going to be a part of the mix," Spicer
said. The tribe is eager to work with local communities in trying
to find a mutually acceptable site for the casino, he said. It would
also obey local building and zoning regulations and pay taxes or user
fees to the taxing entities, he said. Scott Rapp, Syracuse Post-Standard,
8-19-05
The award for trying
to sit on the fence of Indian gaming goes to California and Governor
Schwarzenegger. For every city or community (or politician) that is
willing to fight until the death rather than allow an Indian casino
within its sphere of influence, there is another who thinks that Indian
gaming is the best thing since…(fill in your own best invention).
The governor is both; he wants and needs money from Indian gaming (he
promised the state billions from the tribes to help solve the budget
deficit), but he wants the tribes to do everything on his terms and
frequently threatens legal action if he doesn't get his way. The stakes
are high, even the more remote locations, such as the River Rock Casino
75 miles north of San Francisco demonstrate the value and potential
of an Indian casino. Imagine the revenues if it were in or very near
San Francisco.
The Schwarzenegger
administration and two Indian tribes, including San Diego County's
Los Coyotes band, have finalized agreements that would allow the tribes
to build large, off-reservation casinos in Barstow, along a heavily
traveled route to Las Vegas. The soon-to-be-signed, 20-year deals
offer up to 2,400 slot machines each to Los Coyotes and the Big Lagoon
tribe of Humboldt County in Northern California, said Big Lagoon Chairman
Virgil Moorehead…The agreements, or compacts, promise to be controversial,
with one of the state's most successful and influential gaming tribes
already warning it will wage an aggressive fight against them. Complicating
the situation are two other new compacts - for the Quechan tribe of
Imperial County and the Yurok tribe of Klamath - awaiting ratification.
Those compacts also have drawn tribal criticism. The Barstow compacts
will pose an even tougher sell because they authorize off-reservation
casinos. The 380-member Los Coyotes band has a 25,000-acre reservation
near Warner Springs, more than 100 miles from Barstow. Big Lagoon's
rancheria is 700 miles to the north. U.S. Interior Secretary Gale
Norton recently declared that she will no longer consider compacts
for casino sites not yet held in trust for a tribe by the federal
government. The Barstow site where Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon hope
to build a joint gambling complex has not been taken into trust for
either tribe. James P. Sweeney, Copley News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune,
8-26-05
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's
office warned the Jamul Indian tribe yesterday that the tribe's proposed
30-story casino and hotel may be in violation of its gambling compact
with the state. In a letter to Jamul tribal chairman Leon Acebedo,
Schwarzenegger's legal affairs secretary, Peter Siggins, said news
of the casino raises troublesome questions about fire protection,
water quality and the tribe's willingness to analyze environmental
issues. …"Should the tribe choose not to accept this invitation
to inform the state of its activities and provide assurances of its
intent to comply with its compact obligations, our office will be
obliged to take further appropriate action under the compact,"
he wrote. Anne Krueger, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8-31-05
The River Rock
Entertainment Authority, the operator of the River Rock Casino in
Sonoma County, California, today announced second quarter operating
results for the period ended June 30, 2005...Net revenues for the
second quarter ended June 30, 2005 were $35.8 million. Casino revenues
totaled $34.8 million in the second quarter and included slot revenue
of $31.0 million and table game revenue of $3.8 million. Food, beverage,
and retail revenues were $1.8 million. …EBITDA (1) for the second
quarter of 2005 was $12.8 million, or 35.9% of net revenues. Income
from operations for the second quarter 2005 was $10.0 million and
represented 28.0% of net revenues. …We are a Tribal governmental
instrumentality of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, a
federally recognized self-governing Indian tribe. The Tribe has 768
enrolled members and approximately 75-acre reservation in Sonoma County,
California. We own and operate the River Rock Casino, a 68,000 square
foot facility which is on the reservation and overlooks the scenic
Alexander Valley, 75 miles north of San Francisco. River Rock Casino
features 35,500 square feet of gaming space containing 1,600 slot
and video poker machines, as well as two full-service restaurants.
Business Wire, 8-16-05
One of the biggest
stories in August has been the military base closing commission and
the reaction across the country to potential loss of revenues and jobs
that military bases create. In Michigan there is an interesting twist.
Have you ever wondered what happens to the land, buildings and trappings
of the bases that get closed? Here is part of the answer. They are for
sale, and if you are an Indian tribe and the land is near the traditional
reservation, it is a very sensible investment. It might not work for
a casino location, but there are other possibilities.
Since the Cold
War ended, the government has closed 97 major military bases at a
savings of $29 billion to the American taxpayer. Tribes from the Muckleshoot
to the St. Regis Mohawk are among those who have obtained surplus
military land for housing, recreation and enhancing portfolio investments.
Now, another round of closings - the first in 10 years - is imminent.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced in May that some 5 percent
of 3,700 domestic bases and installations would be recommended for
closure. …When the K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Michigan's Upper
Peninsula was selected for closure, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa Indians were interested. The base was located on the border
of land taken from the tribe in the Chippewa-Ottawa Treaty of 1836.
The BRAC reclamation process began in 1994 - and proceeded at a slow
crawl. …The Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa, with about 2,000 acres
in trust, has a core reservation in Sault Ste. Marie and additional
land in seven outlying areas. To be eligible for BRAC, they had to
have trust property within 25 miles of the base. The tribe has been
running casinos since the mid-1980s; the LRA wanted gaming, explained
Nygaard, but the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act stipulated that casinos
weren't permitted on land obtained after its passage. …In the
end, the tribe prevailed - the Chippewa paid nothing for their 98
acres of land except for surveys, metering, property descriptions
and other incidental costs. The tribe came away with 275 housing units
- single-family, duplexes and multiplexes - along with three industrial
buildings and a gas station. …advice aplenty for BRAC-seeking
tribes: Arrange for a site visit immediately; contact the LRA without
delay; submit the plan to the BIA with a tribal resolution; get the
BIA and Office of Management and Budget to sign on; make frequent
visits to all parties, including those in Washington; respond to requests
for information; don't depend on the BIA for property descriptions;
and attend all record-of-decision meetings. Indian Country Today,
8-26-05
One way or another,
sovereignty continues to be the major issue in Indian gaming. The debate
differs from state to state, but there is one major common factor. Indian
gaming, in fact all Indian sovereignty, is a federal issue and is governed
by federal legislation. Congress is in the process of reviewing the
Act, inquiring into some suspicious activities, such as lobbyist Jack
Abramoff's tribal activities, and discussing limiting locations, legislation
sponsored by senators and representatives from several states. It is
clear that change is certain to result from the Congressional debates;
the nature of the change is not quite so clear. There are very passionate
people on every side.
The hurricane on
the Gulf Coast, the price of gasoline, the housing market or some other
pressing issue will take turns in dominating the media focus and public
attention. But Indian gaming is certain to remain a significant political
issue for the next few years, not the most important, but significant.
In the short-term, however, the fate of Biloxi and New Orleans are going
to be far more important to everyone, including the United States Congress.
But now, that is simply my opinion, isn't it?
Ken
