St. Croix Band of Chippewa lost a motion for a preliminary injunction in their attempt to avoid the new off-reservation gaming rules [see here for Bryan Newland’s analysis of the new rules].
Here are the materials:
Bush Administration
St. Croix & Bad River Chippewa Trust Acquisition Lawsuit Materials
On December 7, 2007, the St Croix Tribe of Chippewa filed a suit against Dirk Kempthorne and Carl Artman. The Tribe has been working with the Bad River Chippewa and the City of Beloit (Wisconsin) to develop a casino in the city (which is not located within either Tribe’s reservation). The suit alleges that DOI has reversed its procedure of applying the two-step IGRA section 20 determination before the 25 CFR Part 151 determination. The Tribe claims that seeking the Part 151 determination first will be futile because of Secretary Kempthorne’s personal views on off-reservation gaming. The Tribes have already spent a great deal of time and money in developing the plan, meeting the requirements of the various applicable environmental laws, et cetera.
St. Croix Chippewa Gaming & Trust Lands Suit
From Indianz [complaint and motion for TRO at the bottom of the post]:
Wisconsin tribe sues BIA over off-reservation gaming
Monday, December 10, 2007
A Wisconsin tribe sued the Bush administration on Friday, accusing two political appointees of changing the land-into-trust process to block off-reservation casinos.
Wither the Akaka Bill?
The White House OMB came out with its objections to the Akaka Bill, namely that the Congressional recognition of Native Hawaiians would be an unconstitutional race-based classification.
My sense is that any constitutional objections to the Bill could be overcome with the political will to do so. But this document articulates (in coded language) that there just is no political will from the Bush Administration to take any action to assist people of color.
Turtle Talk 