St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Files Federal Lawsuit For Casino Decision

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has delayed long enough according to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and now they want him to make a decision, so they have filed a federal lawsuit seeking answers.

At issue is the the tribe wanting to put into trust 30 acres of land for their proposed casino in the Catskills, but they submitted the application nearly nine months ago and still have not received an answer as of yet.

Chief Lorraine White summed up the tribes feelings, saying, "It is unfortunate that we have to file a lawsuit to compel the secretary to do his job, and it is unacceptable that our completed application has been pending at the department for nearly nine months."

Kempthorne is against the building of any casinos off of Indian reservations and the tribe believes those feelings are getting in the way of making a decision that he is obligated to make.

The tribe is waiting on the application and cannot move forward with their plans without it. They are planning a $600 million casino in Monticello that would feature 24 poker tables, restaurants, retail stores, 3,500 slots, and 125 table games.



2007-11-01