Jamul Chair: Say no to reservation shopping

Thursday, November 24, 2005  

"In light of the volatile issue of off-reservation gaming, often referred to as ''reservation shopping,'' the Jamul Indian Village endorses many of the concepts behind Rep. Richard Pombo's draft legislation requiring approval by local voters for all off-reservation land-into-trust acquisitions for gaming.

We are pleased to learn that senior officials with the BIA recently quashed rumors of a total moratorium on land-into-trust acquisitions. However, we share Pombo's well-placed concern about tribes attempting to acquire lands for gaming many miles from their existing reservations, sometimes as far away as different states.

In our opinion, these tribes are violating the spirit of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by seeking these lands. This is not what Congress had in mind, it is certainly not what local governments had in mind and it is surely not what the voters of California had in mind when they passed by large majorities Propositions 5 and 1A."

Get the Story:
Leon Acebedo: Off-reservation gaming casts a dark shadow (Indian Country Today 11/23)