Tribes Fight Over Gambling Rights- Part 1
Tribes and gambling have gone hand in hand over the years. Indian-owned casinos have long been the primary ones in states and have managed gambling revenues successfully. Now that the market is opening up though, the tribes are having problems with oversaturation. Many tribal leaders are fighting hard because gambling is their primary source of income and has been for years now. According to agreements with the government, tribes were allowed to operate casinos and benefit from their operations. Now, those agreements are being threatened by the market as it continues to grow exponentially. Now the Gila River Indian Community is having problems with the way things are developing. Tribal leaders recently filed a lawsuit that would block Tohono O’odham Nation’s casino plan in the state of Arizona. The Gila River Indian Community is alleging that the US Department of the Interior’s move to agree for the development was illegal and contradictory to the policies already set forth. It is a violation of their rights and infringes on their plans already agreed upon.
If the agreement with the Tohono O’odham tribe goes through it would give the land to them. They then would be able to build the casino in an unincorporated area within the state around the Glendale area. The lawsuit is putting a road block into the plan though. The Gila River tribe states that the territory is theirs. Currently the Department of the Interior refuses comment on the issue and is waiting for more information before they release anything formally. There is currently an investigation into the issue, but only time will tell what happens. The one thing that is for sure is that neither tribe will stand down on the issue. The millions of dollars available here are going to push each one to make more solid and determined decisions while this issue is being sorted out. The agreements that are in motion now are unfortunately contradictory to each other, or could be in coming months. That is why the tribal leaders are making such a large deal out of the issue—t at and the fact that there are millions of dollars at stake if other casinos move into their territories.
Part two coming next.
Tags: casino, Gila River, Indian, O'dham, tribe
