Federal government Imposes Arizona tribe land-into-trust application

In Arizona, the federally-recognized Tohono O’odham Nation has reportedly received official approval to take 81 acres of land next door to its coming Desert Diamond West Valley Casino in to trust.

Expanded reservation:

According to a Tuesday report from Indianz.com citing an official notice published in the Federal Register, the conclusion implies that the tribe will now hold some 135 acres of land in Maricopa County after it secured a first 54-acre plot some eight years ago.

Compensation for flooded lands:

This earlier reward was created in connection with 1986’s Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Act, that was co-sponsored by late United States Senator, John McCain, as a method of compensating the tribe due to its loss of a 10,000-acre reservation in the 1960s following the building of a nearby reservoir.

Indianz.com reported that the Tohono O’odham Nation then sought to increase its local landholdings in order to build its Desert Diamond West Valley Casino near the northern Phoenix suburb of Glendale but found its attempts continually frustrated by a selection of opponents that comprised neighboring casino-operating tribes.

New casino to start in 2019:

However, the tribe has reportedly watched nearly a decade’s worth of expensive lobbying campaigns in Washington, DC, along with a range of state and federal lawsuit to be awarded the land and has plans to start its $400 million Desert Diamond West Valley Casino in a permanent structure by the end of next year.

Settlement parcel exempt from gambling prohibition:

Though 1988’s Indian Gaming Regulatory Act reportedly includes a stipulation that forbids newly-acquired tribal lands from being used for gambling, additionally, it includes an exclusion for any parcels which have been awarded in connection with a settlement. In signing the land-into-trust conclusion in favor of the Tohono O’odham Nation, Tara Sweeney, the new Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary for the Department of the Interior, purportedly cited this release along with the fact that the parcel in question occupies a ‘non-incorporated’ area of Maricopa County.