St. Regis Mohawks Complain to Congress

Representatives of the tribe testified at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Feb. 27 and stated the Department of Interior's Jan. 4 denial was "solely based on a new 'commutable distance' rule, which the tribe charged was created without adherence to normal federal rulemaking requirements. The new rule states that no land into trust application would be approved if the casino were located beyond a reasonable commutable distance from the reservation," the tribe states.

St. Regis Mohawk tribal chief Lorraine White said the DOI's new guidance regarding commutable distance "is an astonishing offense to all of Indian Country's 21st century sensibilities. We thought the days of the Indian agents telling us what was good for us and keeping us annexed to the reservation and confined to forts were long gone. Clearly, we all still need to fight hard for our right to self-determination."

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe complained to the House committee that it was not given proper notice and afforded the opportunity to comment on the new policy. Among the issues it wants the independent investigation of DOT to address is what it terms was "an unreasonable delay" of nearly one year on its land into trust application" before it rendered its negative ruling.

Tribal chief Barbara Lazore added that the policy "never should have seen the light of day." She noted that after 12 years of trying to obtain approvals for its Monticello project, "we have been dealt a fatal sucker punch. Now, without ever having been heard, the guidance has resulted in a devastating consequence and our project is now dead. The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, for one, is calling on Congress to investigate the Interior and to withdraw this unlawful policy fraught with dreadful paternalistic undertones."

Last month, in response to its development partner's--Empire Resorts--agreement with the ownership of the Concord Hotel property for a mixed-use gaming facility there, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe revealed it had ended its partnership with Empire Resorts and had withdrawn a lawsuit it had filed against the Department of Interior in protest of its land into trust denial. Shortly thereafter, the tribe reported that it was ceasing all efforts to develop the Monticello casino.

According to a spokesperson, the tribe is in the midst of expanding its gaming operations in Upstate New York at its Akwesasne reservation. The tribe plans to add about 1,000 slot machines at the complex. It added 250 machines in February and intends to add another 250 in May.