"The Ponca Tribe's faces an array of powerful forces as it tries to develop a casino in Carter Lake, Iowa.

Gov. Dave Heineman opposes it. So does Attorney General Jon Bruning. The list goes on to include the Omaha City Council and the state of Iowa. Gambling with the Good Life, the anti-gambling advocacy group, has blasted the plan.

The tribe has a few allies. Carter Lake Mayor Russ Kramer supports the proposed casino, but perhaps the tribe’s most important ally is the federal Department of Justice.

The Ponca have jumped through hoops and battled through a thicket of rules.

Last year they won a ruling from the National Indian Gaming Commission that authorizes a casino on the tribe’s five-acre site in Carter Lake.

That ought to be the end of the story.

The Journal Star editorial page, although generally looking on gambling with disfavor, long has supported the right of tribes to develop casinos on reservation land as a matter of tribal sovereignty and the right of Natives to determine their own destiny."

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Editorial: Ponca have right on their side (The Lincoln Journal Star 7/31)