FT. SILL APACHES CHALLENGE NM GOVERNOR IN NM SUPREME COURT
The Ft. Sill Apache tribe of Oklahoma has been trying for years to get their thirty acre plot in southern New Mexico registered as tribal land and build a casino on it. Although they gained status as “tribal land” with the Department of the Interior in 2002, the state of New Mexico has refused to recognize them as a legitimate New Mexico Tribe.
The Apache tribe has taken the governor to the New Mexico Supreme Court, attempting to get the court to force Governor Martinez to recognize the Apaches as a valid New Mexico tribe. The tribe will present arguments to the Supreme Court on March 10 of this year. An article in the Santa Fe New Mexican about the court hearing can be read here.
According to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, Indian casinos can only operate on land acquired after 1988 by what’s called a “two-part determination.” This means that for a tribe that did not have tribal land recognized before 1988, the Interior Department and the Governor both need to sign off on the proposed casino.
So far, Governor Martinez has stood firm in opposing the proposed tribal casino between Deming and Las Cruces, near Interstate Highway 10.
Stop Predatory Gambling New Mexico continues to urge Governor Martinez to hold the line against tribes engaged in “reservation shopping” to acquire casinos.
