Feds tell tribe it shouldn’t open Akela Flats casino

The National Indian Gaming Commission has informed to Fort Sill Apache Tribe that it should not open its planned casino at Akela Flats.

The action comes a day after Gov. Bill Richardson ordered state police to block public access to the planned high-stakes bingo parlor because the federal government had not ruled on its plans and Richardson had information that the tribe planned to open the facility as early as today.

You can read the commission’s letter to the tribe by clicking here. It states that the commission has not made a final determination but has preliminarily concluded that gaming will not be allowed on the land.

The tribe plans to open a bingo parlor on land that was taken into federal trust in 2002 with the condition that it was not to be used for gaming. The state disagrees with the tribe’s assertion that it now meets the requirements for an exemption to allow an off-reservation casino.

The commission, a least preliminarily, agrees with the state.

“… the tribe may violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) if it opens a gaming operation on the Luna County lands,” the letter states.

Richardson, in a news release, praised the commission’s action.

“Today’s ruling is crucial, because it is our understanding that the Fort Sill Apaches were going to attempt to open the facility for a few hours today in an attempt to the legitimize the operation,” he said. “The gaming commission’s letter makes it clear that federal officials will not recognize that move, and it will be considered illegal.”

Richardson ordered state police to block access to the casino Wednesday after receiving no assurances from the federal government that it would either approve or reject the tribe’s plans to open the facility.

“I am pleased that the federal government took our warnings seriously – the people of New Mexico will not tolerate an illegal gaming enterprise,” Richardson said. “The Fort Sill Apaches erected a facility with high-stakes gaming machines and hired employees with the clear intent to operate this illegal gaming enterprise.”

The tribe, in a news release, accused Richardson of a “blatant violation of the United States Constitution’s Interstate Commerce and Supremacy clauses. In a shocking and threatening manner, workers, tribal employees and tribal members were forced off federal Indian trust property by the Richardson Administration in a manner that smacked of Jim Crow oppression in the south and Governor Wallace blocking the school house door at the University of Alabama in the 1960s.”

U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici supported Richardson’s efforts.

“I am ready if necessary to propose federal legislation to remedy this situation. It is just not right for the Fort Sill Apaches to open a gaming operation on lands in New Mexico that were never intended for such use,” Domenici said in a statement released before the commission’s letter was announced publicly. “The Indian Gaming Commission should expedite its review of this case and affirm that there never was any intent for this trust property to be used as a gaming site. I think Governor Richardson has every right to take action to stop this activity.”

“I fully support Gov. Richardson’s action,” Bingaman said. “I believe the state has the right to insist that any gaming that occurs in New Mexico be done in accordance with our state laws. Clearly the state has not agreed to establish a casino at this location, and the governor is acting to preserve the laws of New Mexico.”