Opinion

Editorial: Let Pamunkey Tribe decide on potential gaming plan

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A Pamunkey family on the Pamunkey Reservation in Virginia sometime around October 1899. Photo from National Anthropological Archive

Virginia newspaper says the Pamunkey Tribe has the sovereign to determine whether or not it wants to pursue a casino after winning recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs:

It's no coincidence that the Pamunkey's recognition was opposed by MGM, which is building a casino in Maryland, and by an anti-casino California nonprofit that has been aligned with MGM in the past. That opposition has, for now, stalled the Pamunkey quest for federal recognition.
Opposition to the Pamunkey recognition should be seen for what it is: A cynical attempt by a gaming giant to prevent competition. The federal government should reject it and grant recognition to the Pamunkey.
As for the theoretical casino on the reservation: Gaming carries terrible costs to the communities where it occurs. Poverty, drug and alcohol use, addictive behavior. It preys on those who can least afford it and enriches only a select few. In this case it would enrich the Pamunkey, to the detriment of the tribe's neighbors.
The Pamunkey should say no to a casino. But it should be a decision made by the Pamunkey, not by Virginia, not by a California nonprofit and certainly not one of its potential competitors.

Get the Story:
Editorial: Casino should be tribe's decision (The Virginian-Pilot 10/29)

Relevant Documents:
Letter to Chief Brown | Notice of Final Determination

Federal Register Notices:
Final Determination for Federal Acknowledgment of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe (July 8, 2015)
Proposed Finding for Federal Acknowledgment of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe (January 23, 2014)