The New Mexico-based Fort Sill Apache Tribe last week filed a motion to try to compel the National Indian Gaming Commission to obey an order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that it reconsider a 2015 decision that the tribe was not eligible to offer gaming on its reservation at Akela Flats.
The January 13 deadline for the NIGC is passed and the tribe is also trying to force the commission and commission chairman to appear and show why they shouldn’t be held in contempt of court.
According to a statement from the tribe: “In October 2015, the Tribe and the government agreed to a process that, it was hoped, could resolve the dispute over gaming at Akela Flats, New Mexico. The parties agreed that the Department of Interior would issue an opinion regarding the tribe’s eligibility to conduct gaming, and the NIGC would reconsider its earlier decision in light of the Department of Interior’s opinion and would issue a new Decision and Order reflecting that reconsideration. This agreement of the parties was subsequently embodied in several orders of the District Court, most recently the court’s October 21, 2016 Amended Order. The NIGC has refused to follow the court order.”
The tribe accuses the government of repeatedly ignoring the court order. The statement calls on the incoming administration to “review this process and work with us toward restoring respect for our people and an amicable resolution to this legal matter.”
