Indian Gaming > Witchcraft concerns halt Navajo casino work

July 14, 2008

Witchcraft concerns halt Navajo casino work

Concerns over witchcraft have halted construction on the first Navajo Nation casino, The Gallup Independent reports.

Some soil from an archaeological site was apparently used as fill at the $22 million Fire Rock Casino near Gallup, New Mexico. That could go against Navajo beliefs about the dead.

The facility is set to debut in October. Navajo Nation Council Delegate Ernest Yazzie, who represents the Church Rock Chapter where the casino is located, hopes it will open on time.

“I won't let any skinwalkers, witchcraft, Godless people try to stop what we are doing,” Yazzie told the Independent.

Get the Story:
Official: Skinwalkers halted construction on Navajo facility (The Gallup Independent 7/12)