Tribes testify against ‘reservation shopping’

Erica Werner

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Two California Indian tribe leaders told federal lawmakers Tuesday that tribes shouldn't try to build casinos away from their reservations, arguing that the controversial practice jeopardizes the future of tribal gambling.

"These sort of land acquisitions threaten not only San Manuel and its interest in protecting its ancestral homelands, but also the very existence of tribal government gaming in the future," Deron Marquez, chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, told the House Resources Committee in written testimony.

"The effort to acquire lands far from existing reservations brings added scrutiny from the general public and now the Congress to land acquisition, and makes such reacquisition efforts more difficult," he said.

Marquez leads a wealthy San Bernardino County casino tribe that opposes the efforts of another California tribe to build an off-reservation casino in its area. The second California tribal leader who testified Tuesday was Leslie Lohse, treasurer of the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians in Northern California, which like San Manuel owns a casino and opposes another tribe's off-reservation casino ambitions.

Their testimony underscored how the debate over off-reservation gambling, which has sometimes pitted Indians against local communities, can also turn tribes against one another.

Lohse complained that attempts by another tribe, the Greenville Rancheria, to build off-reservation "presents a disturbing and exploitive picture of tribal governments throughout this great nation ... What we see here is an attempt to do off-reservation gaming by a tribe clearly driven by an out-of-state investor."

A call to Greenville Rancheria tribal offices seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Federal law limits Nevada-style tribal casinos to existing reservations in most cases, but there are exceptions that allow tribes to build on locations far from their reservation. Tribes are increasingly pursuing the option, though few tribes have succeeded in building off-reservation to date.

The practice is getting increased scrutiny from lawmakers, as Tuesday's hearing demonstrated. But while some lawmakers voiced concern over the proliferation of off-reservation casino plans, there appeared to be little inclination to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to stop the trend. Officials noted that the law does not make it easy to build off-reservation.

"The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act process may not be perfect, but it's in place to protect all tribes," Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, said.