Are we there yet?
When it comes to “off-reservation” casino proposals; the more often you hear that nagging question in your head, the less likely it is you’ll ever get there.
Officials in Washington D.C. and Indian Country observers across the U.S. indicate, “off-reservation” casino approvals are highly unlikely as it is – and the odds get worse when tribes seek to relocate their casinos across state, hop-scotching the homelands of other tribes and numerous counties or over state boundaries.
The further a tribe strays from its ancestral homelands, its modern day Reservation and the bulk of its present day population; the further it is from ever realizing the dream of a casino.
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| “An environmental impact study on the site of a proposed tribal casino will start next month but could take up to five years to complete, according to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. “With the study, opposition from other Michigan casinos and the sponsoring tribe's distance from Romulus, tribal gaming experts say it's highly unlikely the new casino ever will be approved.” “Off-Reservation Casino ‘very long shot’” Detroit News (detnews.com) 02.21.07 |
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| “…likelihood of accepting off-reservation land into trust decreases with the distance the subject parcel is from the tribe's established reservation or ancestral lands and the majority of tribal members.”
James Cason associate deputy secretary U.S. Interior Department |
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| “In a December letter to the tribe, the U.S. Interior Department noted that the proposed site is in Monticello "over 450 miles from your reservation."
Further, an agency official noted: "As we have discussed on several occasions, we share the concerns that many have expressed with off-reservation gaming and so-called 'reservation shopping.'" “Casino in the Catskills still facing Road Blocks” Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 02.21.07 |
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