New York governor backs off-reservation casinos

New York Gov. David Paterson (D) is asking the Obama administration to rescind a policy that restricts off-reservation gaming.

Paterson supports efforts by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians to open off-reservation casinos in the Catskills. But he said an unfair Bush administration policy holds the tribes back.

“The economic development potential associated with the projects is the stimulus these tribes and this area of the state desperately need," Paterson said in a letter quoted by Indian Country Today. The letter was sent to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is reviewing requests to rescind the policy, a spokesperson said.

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Support grows for ‘guidance memo’ withdrawal (Indian Country Today 5/27)