Five years ago the First Sill Apache of New Mexico tried to open a bingo parlor in a 12,000 square foot building on 30 acres between the cities of Deming and Las Cruces along Interstate 10.
The state’s Governor Bill Richardson shut the casino down. The tribe still sells tobacco, sandwiches and sodas to travelers, but doesn’t attempt to operate slots.
According to Fort Sill Chairman Jeff Haozous the tribe has not given up its dream of putting the land into federal trust. It can show that the tribe once operated there until its members were forced to leave near the end of the 19th century by U.S. troops.
The tribe has applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to have off-reservation land put into trust. For that to happen the current governor, Susana Martinez would have to agree. However, last year Martinez made it plain to representatives of the tribe that she doesn’t intend to support the proposal.
The tribe had been successfully offering paper bingo at its Akela reservation, which it launched in 2009. However it was ordered to close by the National Indian Gaming Commission. The tribe complied but has appealed the ruling. If it wins the appeal it could reopen the casino within two months, it says.
Before the tribe opens any kind of Class III operation it will need a tribal gaming compact with the state.
Last month the tribe sued the governor in federal court, claiming that her administration has not cooperated in the tribe’s requests for obtaining recognition as a tribe recognized by the state.
