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Committee Approved Legislation Will Not Block Cowlitz Tribe
A congressional committee approved legislation Wednesday that aims to end "reservation shopping," but the bill would not block the Cowlitz Tribe from building a casino near La Center.
The legislation, if it becomes part of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, would require the Cowlitz to build a casino in an area where the tribe has geographic and historic ties. Sibbison Commission's Nov. 22 "restored lands" opinion and other documentation would be sufficient to meet that potential requirement.
Heather Sibbison, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing the tribe, said the legislation means "basically nothing" because the Cowlitz submitted its application before the March 7, 2006, cutoff specified in the bill.
Casino opponents have attacked the commission's opinion and urged the federal government not to consider it in deciding whether to take a 152-acre site into trust on the tribe's behalf.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act generally prohibits gambling on lands taken into trust after 1988. The Cowlitz are relying on an exemption that allows gambling on a tribe's initial reservation.
The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs said his clients will be able to proceed because they submitted their application prior to March 7.
Senator John McCain's bill is not expected to derail the Cowlitz plan, but Pombo originally sponsored a bill that could have killed the tribe's casino.
Wednesday, 09. 2006
Gerald Kernighan