The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas recently filed an amicus brief in the case of the Isleta del Sur Pueblo against the state of Texas, now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court agreed to hear the Pueblo’s case, which seeks to overturn a 1994 ruling used by the state ever since to close electronic bingo venues operated by the Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe.
In the 1994 case, the Fifth Circuit ruled the state of Texas can stop the two tribes from offering electronic bingo on their reservations. The Pueblo case asks the Supreme Court to overrule that 1994 decision since bingo is allowed elsewhere in the state.
In Its amicus brief, the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe argues the state does not have the authority to regulate bingo on the tribe’s reservation, and the Fifth Circuit misinterpreted the Restoration Act of 1987, which restored formal federal recognition to the tribes in Livingston and El Paso. The brief notes the 1994 decision “did not concern gaming activities that Texas permits and regulates like bingo, nor did it purport to construe the Restoration Act to that end. At the time, everyone, including Texas, believed the Restoration Act barred Texas from enforcing its regulatory jurisdiction over on-reservation gaming activities that Texas allows, like bingo.”
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe’s Naskila Gaming, located on its reservation near Livingston, is the second-largest employer in Polk County, with 700 employees whose jobs have been in the line of fire for years as the state sought to shut down the facility. Tribal Council Chairperson Nita Battise said, “The Supreme Court’s decision to hear this case has given us hope that the state’s effort to put our employees out of work will finally end. This case is vitally important to our tribe. Hundreds of jobs are at stake, as well as our long-term future and sustainability as a tribe.”
The tribe received other good news In August, as the U.S. District Court in Beaumont ruled the tribe may legally operate Naskila Gaming under Its 1987 Restoration Act. The state’s appeal Is on hold pending the Supreme Court’s decision in the Pueblo case.
Also, earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2208 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The bill would clarify that the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe and Pueblo can offer electronic bingo under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Senate has not yet taken up the bill.
In addition, 80 civic, business and community groups have approved resolutions in support of Naskila Gaming to offer electronic bingo. Battise noted, “We have strong community backing, we have bipartisan support in Washington and we have a very sound legal argument on our side. Still, our future hangs in the balance. The decisions made by Congress and the Supreme Court in this matter will make an impact that will be felt throughout East Texas.”
The National Indian Gaming Association, the National Congress of American Indians and the United South and Eastern Tribes also filed amicus briefs in support of the Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.
