Despite a general cooling by the Trump administration towards off-reservation casinos, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin is still bullish on the one that it has long sought permission for in Beloit.
The tribe recently announced that it will update stakeholders about the proposal. Attending the meeting will be Beloit officials who support the casino.
Shelby Visintin, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation Legislature, told Indianz: “The overall benefits and opportunities will be great for the City of Beloit and Rock County. The revenues from this venture will provide funding for education, health, housing, elder and youth services for Ho-Chunk Nation tribal members. We look forward to the future.”
The tribe first requested putting the land into trust about five years ago from the Obama administration, which was normally very receptive to off-casino requests. But the Bureau of Indian Affairs has so far not lived up to its own schedule—including never issue a draft environmental impact statement, which is normally the first step taken in a fee land into trust process.
Since the new administration took office in January, new barriers have been added to the process, which has been taken away from regional authorities and put directly into the hands of the Secretary of the Interior.
Proposed changes to regulations governing fee-to-trust would make it harder. The tribe feels that its situation is unique because the federal government originally forced it off of its land and it has no existing reservation.
Some critics say the new regulations will make it “near impossible” for the Ho-Chunk to acquire land for a reservation. Its members are scattered throughout the state on disconnected parcels.
