Tribes
Face Scrutiny Over Land Decisions
As reported by the San Diego
Union Tribune: "Over the past year, both
the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations
have started to take a harder line on high-stakes
Indian land decisions, which carry broad, long-term
implications for tribes and adjoining communities.
"Tribes
empowered by steady and growing revenue from
gambling have made no secret of their desire
to reclaim some of the lands taken from them
generations ago. Many, including several in
San Diego County, already are making large,
multimillion-dollar acquisitions.
"But
it is when tribes seek to take new lands under
their governmental control – by having
them placed into federal trust status –
that the public-policy considerations become
much more complex.
"Indian
lands held in trust are for the most part beyond
the reach of state and local governments. They
are exempt from state and local taxes and land-use
controls. Trust lands also can be used for gambling
in most cases.
"…The
underlying prospect of gambling expansion and
growing angst over off-reservation casino proposals
appear to be driving the heightened scrutiny
of efforts to expand Indian lands.
"'The
general posture of (Interior Secretary Gale)
Norton at the moment is one of hesitancy, to
say the least, about the issue of land acquisition,
and what's driving that is Indian gaming,' said
Steven Light, co-director of the Institute for
the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at
the University of North Dakota.
"…In
Washington, leaders of the National Indian Gaming
Association said political leaders who believe
they are responding to public anxiety about
tribal gaming are operating from a false premise…"
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