The Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma launched a media campaign today to defend its gaming facility in New Mexico.

The tribe urges President Barack Obama not to take action against the Apache Homelands Entertainment Center in southern New Mexico. The television, radio and print ads tout the "hundreds" of jobs the facility will create.

""President Obama has put job creation at the forefront of his agenda," Chairman Jeff Houser said. "We are going to tell him that there are hundreds of jobs he can save right now, without spending another penny. We want him to hear our concerns and the concerns of all the hard working people of New Mexico."

The tribe operates the facility on trust land. But the National Indian Gaming Commission said the site doesn't qualify under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act because it was acquired after 1988.

The television ads are running on television stations in New Mexico and in the Washington, D.C., metro area. A print ad will run in this week's Roll Call, which focuses on Capitol Hill and political issues.

"The Indian gaming industry has barely recovered from the Abramoff scandal. It needs strong new leadership and it needs it now. The President campaigned on the idea of change - it's time he brought that change to NIGC," the print ad states.

Relevant Documents:
Fort Sill Apache Letter (July 26, 2009) | Notice of Violation: Fort Sill Apache Tribe (July 21, 2009)