Late last week, United States District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle issued an opinion upholding the National Indian Gaming Commission’s (“NIGC’s”) determination that the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma was not eligible to game in New Mexico. Fort Sill is a federally recognized Indian tribe located in Oklahoma that has land at Akela Flats, located 18 miles east of Deming, New Mexico, off of Interstate 10.
The Akela Flats land was donated to Fort Sill in the late 1990s. Fort Sill tried to open a small casino on the land in 2008. The casino was shut down quickly by the NIGC and former Governor Bill Richardson ordered a state police blockade at the location where the Apache Homelands operates a diner, convenience store and smoke shop.
The NIGC determined that Fort Sill did not qualify under any of the exceptions to the general prohibition against tribes gaming on lands acquired after 1988 in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) that was enacted by Congress.
The casino plan at Akela Flats included jobs for an economically depressed Luna County. Back in 2008, the county staggered in at a percentage rate of unemployment that reached double-digits.
After many years of arguing that they should be able to game at Akela Flats, Fort Sill took the NIGC to court because the NIGC would not reverse its decision. District Court Judge Huvelle dismissed each argument made by Fort Sill. As a result, Fort Sill will not be gaming in New Mexico any time soon...
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