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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2007)
News from I net ¡3 n Country Page 9 Spiiyay Tymoo April 12, 2007 Tribes divided over expanding gambling legislation TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)—Just because one Indian tribe says it’s planning to sue the state over legislation allowing expanded gam bling-doesn’t mean all of them oppose it. The Prairie Band Potawatomi, which operates one of four tribal casinos in northeast Kansas, claims the legislation is unconsti tutional. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius plans to sign the legislation put ting Kansas in a unique position of having state-run casinos, un like the 11 other states with com mercial casinos. But the Sac and Fox and Kickapoo tribes, which also op erate tribal casinos, are partners for a bid to operate the casino allowed in Wyandotte County, said Fredia Perkins, Sac and Fox tribal chairwoman. “We aren’t going to sue. In fact, we asked the Potawatomi to join us a long time ago in the Kansas City project,” she said. The Sac and Fox and K ickapoo join tly purchased some 80 acres in western Wyan dotte County four years ago, which many see as an ideal lo cation because it’s located near Kansas Speedway and a grow ing commercial area. “Just like any good business, because o f the grow ing de mands of our people, we have to look for ways to expand our aid to our people,” Perkins said. The Kansas Constitution al lows a “state-owned and oper ated” lottery, and the state Su would be filed or who else might preme Court has said “lottery” join the tribe. She said then that commer is defined broadly enough to cover other gambling, including cial casinos “will severely im pact” the tribe’s casino, which slot machines and casinos. But opponents argue the con accounts for about 1,000 jobs. But Sebelius says a legal chal stitution requires the state not only to own the casinos and slots lenge is expected and believes it at tracks, but to manage them will pass a court challenge. directly, rather than delegating Like the other tribes with ca management to a private com sinos on their reservations, the pany, as the legislation envisions. Sac and Fox and Kickapoo come The Potawatomi, operating a under the authority of the Na resort casino north of Topeka tional Indian Gaming Commis on its reservation, says that’s sion in Washington. C om m ission spokesm an why it will challenge the law once Shawn Pensoneau said nothing it’s enacted. When plans for the lawsuit prevents tribes from getting into were announced last week, tribal the gambling business off their chairwom an Tracy Stanhoff land while still operating casinos said she didn’t know when it on their reservations. Ohio residents sentenced in American Indian looting case BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP)— Six Ohio residents were sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to loot ing an American Indian ar chaeological site in western Kentucky, a federal prosecu tor official said Wednesday. D aniel Fisher, 41, and Thom as J. Luecke, 40, of Cincinnati; Richard Kirk, 56, o f Stout; Jo sep h M. Mercurio, 44, and Tanya C. Mercurio, 43, of Manches ter; and David Whitling, 47, of Bellefontaine, were sen- M onday by Judge B. Russell in federal court, U.S. Attorney David L. Huber said in a statement. All pleaded guilty to looting a site at Barren River Lake, ad mitting that on Dec. 5, 2005, they entered federal land to dig for relics, including Early Wood lands ceramics that date back roughly to 1500 to 300 B.C., Pluber said. Once on the federal land, the defendants used rakes and dig ging implements to disturb the surface of the ground, creating holes and displacing archaeologi cal sediment in violation of the federal A rch aeo lo gical R e sources Protection Act, Huber said. Kirk and Whitling were sentenced to two years of probation. Kirk was ordered to serve six months of home incarceration as part of his probation. J oseph Mercurio was sen tenced to two years’ proba tion and four months in home detention. Tanya Mercurio was sentenced to two years’ probation. Fisher and Luecke were each sentenced to two years’ probation and six months in home detention. Interior approves Jenas casino plan COLFAX, La. (AP)—Af ter several years of rebuffs, the Jena Band of Choctaws has received federal approval to open a somewhat scaled- down tribal casino in south ern Grant Parish, the tribe’s chief says. Earlier this month, the In terior Department approved a 63-acre initial reservation for the tribe, Chief Christine Norris said. That will allow the Jenas to build a casino that includes slot machines and poker tab les, said Ju lie Wilkerson, the tribe’s attorney. The casino, considered a Class II gambling hall under federal regulations, could open in less than two years, Norris said. Three other tribes operate Class III casinos under compacts with the state on traditional res ervations. Those full-blown ca sinos offer blackjack, slot ma chines and other games. The J ena tribe has been try ing to get state and federal ap proval for a reservation since the state recognized it as a tribe in 1995. Gov. Mike Foster approved a compact with the Jenas in 2002 to build a casino in Calcasieu Parish, but the Inte rior D epartm ent rejected it. Another move to build a casino in far northwestern Louisiana stalled at the end of Foster’s second term. Gov. Kathleen Blanco has refused to negotiate with the tribe, saying she does not want to expand gambling in Louisiana. W ilkerso n said the governor’s approval is not needed to open a Class II casino. Plans call for the ca sino to be located in the com munity of Creola, about 12 miles north of Alexandria. Norris said the tribe in cludes 254 members, which she described as generally poorer, less educated and less healthy than average resi dents of Louisiana. Profits from the casino will be used for education, health care and, perhaps, di rect payments to tribal mem bers. “They can engage in gaming activities outside their land but it has to be something that is al lowed by the state,” he said. Leon Campbell, chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, declined to be inter viewed and referred questions to former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight, who has been represent ing the tribe. Knight didn’t re spond to a message left on his answering machine. At one time, the Iowa Tribe wanted to build a” casino in subur ban Wichita but decided to look for other locations when the Sedgwick County Commission put off a vote on the project. Twenty-eight states have In dian gambling—23 with casinos and five with games such as bingo. Aside from allowing a resort casino in Wyandotte County, the legislation also allows one each in the Dodge City area, south east and south-central Kansas. The state would get 22 percent of the revenues, and operators would have to commit to a mini mum $225 million investment plus an non-refundable upfront fee of $25 million. Also dog and horse tracks in K ansas City, Frontenac and Wichita would diride 2,200 slots, with an additional 600 slots once the state signed contracts with casino m anagers. The state would get 40 percent of the slots revenues. Blackfeet to return management of detention center to BIA GREAT FALLS, M ont. (AP)— The B lackfeet Tribal Business Council is proposing to return management of its juve nile detention center to the Bu reau of Indian Affairs, which the tribe says is underfunding the facility. “That means it will be their responsibility,” said Rodney Gervais, a tribal councilman. “And they’ll have to pay a lot more for it,” added Councilman Edwin Little Plume. Pending before the business council is a resolution to dissolve a contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs for die tribe to pro vide juvenile detention services at die White Buffalo Center. “The Blackfeet Tribe has de termined that due to the tribe’s continuing financial crisis and the BIA’s minimal funding... it is now in the best interest of the tribe to retrocede said contract immedi ately,” the resolution states. Tribal Councilman Ronald Kittson said the BIA pays about $250,000 a year to run the White Buffalo Center, but that the overall annual budget is about $950,000. •ulity Seules “We care enough to do our best” Master I a se Certified [Technician NO APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY! 85 SW 3rd, Madras - ph. 475-2412 Tribe uses hand-held computer to fight illness CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP)— Health officials with the Chero kee Indian tribe are using hand held computers designed for terrorism investigations to track asthm a, a growing condition among tribe members. Residents in 54 houses were surveyed this week by Chero kee Indian H ospital workers who used the devices to record information about mold, water drainage, smoking and pets in side the homes. The data will be used in a report due out in May. A federal grant of $30,000 is paying for the study. The computers, on loan from state officials, usually would be used to track injuries during a ter rorist attack. “It is a really a cool technol ogy,” hospital spokeswoman Jody Adams, said. “My hope is they will find more uses for it. It will tell us what things in the community, and in that home, that we need to go back and look for.” Asthma has become a seri ous concern in the tribe with about a third of its 9,000 mem bers suffering from the condi tion. Asthma is a greater prob lem in western North Carolina, and officials suspect air pollu tion may be to blame. Older homes also could be adding to the problem, they said. Betty Maney lives in a 30- year-old house with her three asthmatic granddaughters. Her home was built on a concrete slab with land sloping toward the foundation. 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