Rep. Paul Cook, whose congressional district includes Barstow, California, is urging he Bureau of Indian Affairs to make a decision on a proposed tribal casino.
“My goal is to get the casino,” Cook told the Desert Dispatch. “Barstow needs jobs.” He is so passionate about the issue that he may call for a congressional hearing of the matter.
Currently two tribes are interested in building a casino in Barstow. They are the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, a San Diego-based tribe more than 100 miles from Barstow and the Chemehuevi Tribe, based in Lenwood
The Los Coyotes band has a current application before the BIA to put the Barstow land into trust. The Chemehuevi tribe has gotten involved because it seems to many observers that the application might be denied since it involves a “two-part determination,” since it would be an off-reservation casino.
Cook declared, “It’s a battle between two tribes. Somebody is going to pull the switch and that will be the head of Bureau of Indian Affairs, Kevin Washburn. The hang-up with his particular federal agency—and I can see where he (Washburn) is coming from. it all goes back to the historical ties. One particular tribe to another. And where you tie that in. And so a lot of this is negotiated back there.”
