Free Republic

SACRAMENTO – As congressional leaders and others call for new constraints on off-reservation Indian gaming, the Schwarzenegger administration is preparing to roll out its fourth such casino compact in two years. The pending agreement would allow the North Fork Rancheria band of central California to build a large casino-resort adjacent to busy state Route 99 just outside the city of Madera. The deal is expected to be announced within weeks, sources close to the negotiations said. The proposal is sailing into a stiff political head wind, with bipartisan opposition to off-reservation gaming building from Sacramento to Washington, D.C. Sen. John...

NEW YORK — The Southampton, N.Y.-based Shinnecock Indians (search) on Tuesday fired the first arrow in their battle to reclaim ancestral lands — filing a federal lawsuit seeking the return of 3,600 acres of prime real estate "stolen" by the state a century and a half ago. The 1,300-member tribe also is asking for monetary damages — conservatively estimated at $1.7 billion — and 150 years of back rent and interest in what it called "the largest Indian land claim ever filed." The suit is seen by many locals as an attempt to force favorable action on the Shinnecocks' bid...

TESTIMONY SOUGHT ON GAMBLING - INDIAN CASINO RESERVATION SHOPPING A House committee is considering gambling law changes and wants your input by today Thursday, although even if its late they STILL want it. There is an easy questionaire that is pretty self explanatory. Way cool way to get your ideas to Congress. http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0036864.cfm A House committee is considering gambling law changes and wants your input. Congress is currently accepting public testimony about off-reservation gambling. Rep. Richard Pombo, chairman of the Committee on Resources, held an oversight hearing on the issue last week in Sacramento — one outcome was a request...