AZ legislators have introduced a bill in Congress to stop the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a casino near Glendale. If this bill passes it would undo a treaty with the tribe that they traded water rights for 25 years ago under the Reagan Administration.
Glendale has already lost multiple court challenges to stop the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a casino on land that they purchased with money from the trade that the treaty promised would be considered reservation land with all its rights.
Nov. 7, 2011
The Arizona Supreme Court last week denied Glendale's request to hear an appeal related to whether a third of the tribe's 135 acres fall within the city's boundaries.
As for the latest decision, the state Supreme Court ruled Glendale must pay the tribe's legal fees in the annexation case. A tally should be available soon, according to the tribe. It's expected to be north of $132,000, which was the amount the tribe sought earlier this year. Since then, with the city's appeal, the legal costs have climbed.
http://www.azcentral.com/...
Since legal challenges have all failed, AZ Congressional representatives are taking up the battle in DC.
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Peoria, in September introduced a bill to stop the Tohono O'odham Nation from moving forward on its project at 95th and Northern avenues.
House Bill 2938 or The Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Clarification Act would modify a 25-year-old settlement between Congress and the tribe. It would ban most gambling, including bingo, slot machines and blackjack, on any replacement lands in Pinal, Pima, and Maricopa counties that are taken into the reservation system for the tribe.
http://www.azcentral.com/...
The bill passed the House Natural Resources Committee on a 32-11 vote last week which will send Franks' bill to a full floor vote. Pres. Obama has promised a veto if it makes it through the senate, which is very doubtful. This is a last ditch effort for Glendale to defeat a bill they have been unable to through multiple expensive court challenges.
Interior officials said the bill is in direct contradiction to the1986 law, which says any replacement lands purchased by the Tohono O'odham Nation "shall be deemed to be a federal Indian reservation for all purposes," including gaming.
Glendale officials seem most concerned about the competition to a sports complex and a loss of tax revenues from the venue. Others in Glendale, including the mayor, Bob Barrett, see the casino as an economic boon and don’t understand why the council is fighting it to this extent. It could also set off a fight over water rights.
Under the 1986 Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Act, the tribe gave up its damaged lands and the water rights that came with them in return for replacement land. If Franks' bill is successful, the Tohono O'odham could come back and ask for its water rights back, which is about 32,000 acre-feet per year.
http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/...
The tribe sees it as another attempt by the government to break a treaty in a long history of doing so. The book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee chronicles the 200 year history of broken treaties in this country. It is a matter of keeping a promise to a NA tribe in a litany of broken ones.