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.
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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. Maney said she has
complained about the problems
and hopes the survey helps.
“I’d like to see some sort of
action taken on it,” Maney said.
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