California’s Tule River Tribe is lobbying local residents and leaders to support its bid for an off-reservation casino. The tribe wants to move its existing Eagle Mountain Casino to a location it hopes will attract more business.
However, that location would be on 40 acres that the tribe has purchased off the reservation. Requesting the Bureau of Indian Affairs to put such land into trust is a more complicated process than simply putting land into trust.
An off-reservation proposal triggers the “two-part determination” provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
It requires demonstrating that the proposed casino would not only benefit the tribe, but the surrounding community. It also requires the approval of the governor of the state.
The surrounding community includes the cities of Lindsay and Porterville and Tulare County, all of which the tribe is seeking support from.
Tribal Chairman Neil Peyron told the Porterville Recorder “This is the farthest [along] we’ve ever been.”
The casino would also require a tribal state gaming compact with the state.
Currently the process has generated a draft environmental impact statement that the BIA will release for public review in July.
