"The proposal by Jemez Pueblo to build an off-reservation casino in Anthony, N.M., has now been rejected twice - first with a Republican administration in the White House and a Democrat in the governor's mansion, then later with a Democrat in the White House and a Republican as governor.

That would seem to pretty much cover all the bases. But the casino's proponents, to their credit, don't give up easily. They have already pulled the project back from the grave once, and hope that they may be able to do so a second time.

Casino supporters have made a plea to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs to reconsider its ruling last month to prohibit the project from moving forward.

The feds had many of the same concerns we have raised previously with this proposal — namely its 300-mile distance from Jemez Pueblo. "With the Pueblo of Jemez, we had significant concerns about the tribe's ability to effectively exercise jurisdiction over a parcel nearly 300 miles from its existing reservation," Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk said in a prepared statement.

The federal government also questioned an intergovernmental services agreement the Jemez Pueblo had executed with Doña Ana County that obligated the pueblo to help pay public safety costs related to the casino's impact. The analysis noted that federal law requires a tribe to "exercise governmental power" over a parcel, for it to be considered to become trust land."

Get the Story:
Our View: Crap shoot: An appeal of Anthony casino (The Las Cruces Sun-News 10/9)

Related Stories:
Jemez Pueblo weighs options for off-reservation casino denial (9/5)
Echo Hawk rejects off-reservation casino for New Mexico tribe (9/2)
Michael Toledo: Off-reservation casino a path to self-sufficiency (8/9)