The Tucson, Arizona City Council last week endorsed a preliminary intergovernmental agreement that would allow the Pascua Yaqui to build a hotel and casino on 14.38 acres the tribe owns that is within the city limits.
The land, which the tribe purchased in 2011, was once a now defunct cinema near Interstate 10. The land is considered part of the neighborhood of the Old Pascua Village.
The intergovernmental agreement guarantees city services, including groundwater. It requires that the Bureau of Indian Affairs agree to put the land into trust for the tribe, making it reservation land.
Pascua Yaqui Chairman Robert Valencia told the council, “This agreement will provide a structure for the City and the Tribe to operate under if the federal government takes approximately 15 acres into trust [sic] for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe,” he said. “…Because these lands are located in Tucson, we think it is important that the City and the Tribe agree on how services and economic development will be handled if the lands are taken into trust. This Intergovernmental Agreement does just that—it lays out the roles and responsibilities of the City and the Tribe and establishes an Oversite Group that can help resolve areas of concern if they develop.”
Councilmember Paul Durham, whose district includes the area the tribe wants to develop, said the process will take a while to bear fruit. “The Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council and Chairman Valencia have not yet decided how to develop the land once it’s put into trust with the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” Durham said.
He said the process might take a decade to complete. Once the land is put in trust the tribe will need to decide how to develop it, he said. “The land is currently significantly underutilized considering its prime location and I look forward to working with the Tribe in the future on this property.”
