The Tohono O'odham Nation is warning the federal govenrment if they try and stop them from building a casino on their land, they will sue. The tribe is an Arizona state tribe who purchased land in 2003 on the edge of Glendale AZ with $30 million that the US government gave them as replacement for land, 10,000 acres, that was flooded by a federal dam project. A 1986 law states the tribe could use the money to buy replacement land in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. They bought the land after the state voted for the rights of tribes to allow casino gaming to be done on their land. Ned Norris Jr, who is the head of the Tohono O'odham Nation, had this to say If they wanted to ban gaming on our replacement lands, they knew how to do it, he said, pointing to other federal laws letting tribes buy property but with provisions against casinos. But they did not. Trent Franks is a Representative for the state of AZ and wants to add to the 1986 law to disallow gaming on newly acquired land. If Washington changes the law now, Norris states would be yet another black mark in the history of the United States' broken promises with Indian tribes. But he said more is involved because it would subject the federal government to claims of breach of contract, breach of trust and taking away the property rights of the tribe, exposing the United States and American taxpayers to substantial liability. Diane Enos, president of the Salt River-Maricopa Indian Community, said the campaign for the 2002 measure included a promise gaming would be limited to existing reservations and there would be no more than seven casinos in the Phoenix metro area, which Enos said helped the measure win voter approval. In our tribal cultures, one's word ought to be enough, Enos told lawmakers. Tribes should not have to worry about whether we can trust the word of another tribal government. Enos said it is wrong for the O'odham to try to have gaming on the site, and Congress should stop it. Franks said at the Tuesday testimony that it is the Tohono O'odham tribe who is breaking their word and not the federal government. Glendale and the State of AZ have tried to block the builiding of the casino by suing the Tohono O'odham tribe but have failed.
