A federal judge has upheld a ruling by the National Indian Gaming Commission that the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma can’t build a casino on land they own in Akela Flats, New Mexico.
Although the tribe is federally recognized in Oklahoma U.S. District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle upheld the NIGC decision that the land, near Deming and off Interstate 10, it does not qualify under any of the exceptions to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 for putting land into trust that was acquired after that date. The land was donated to the tribe in the 1990s.
The tribe attempted to operate a casino in 2008 but the NIGC quickly ordered it shut and the state of New Mexico set up a police blockade near the operation.
The tribe took the NIGC to court and the judge dismissed the case.
