Casino process proves to be a lengthy endeavor

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The letter of intent, though, is just one step in a lengthy process Portland attorney Michael Mason said.

“The application can be lengthy,” Mason said.

Mason, an attorney with extensive experience in American Indian law, said the casino application document itself is “hundreds” of pages long.

There are actually two processes running side-by-side, Mason said, both involving the United States Secretary of Interior, whose department includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“There are no time limits,” he said.

One part of the process is to put the acquired land in trust with the federal government.

“It must be in consultation with local government,” Mason said, which in this case would be Malheur County officials.

There is also an economic review - dubbed the Section 20 process - in which the United States Secretary of Interior must decide if the casino is going to be a benefit to the tribe. The secretary also must determine the gaming facility will not be a detriment to the community. That includes any community within a 25-mile radius, Mason said.

The state, through the governor, is also involved in the consultations, and the tribe has to sign a compact with the state to get the casino, he said.

“That can be a very lengthy process,” he said. “Its a very open process. It can be a very long haul.”

He said he has seen only three casinos approved in 15 years.

“The problem the Paiutes have is there are no time limits. It can easily take longer than this administration is in office,” he said.

By filing a letter of intent for a casino, the tribe was merely reserving its right to establish a casino, Mason said, in the face of an effort in Congress to cut this type of effort off.

However, the legislation to bring a halt to casino development has not passed, Mason said, and it may not pass, but the tribe went ahead and filed to preserve its rights.

There is an effort by the Land Rights Network, American Land Rights Association and the Alliance Against Reservation Shopping, headquartered in Battle Ground, Wash., to change the proposed deadline of new casino applications to April 15. The three organizations said in a news release that United States Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, promised if there was a large increase in casino applications after March 29, he would reset the deadline to March 29.

That would leave the Burns-Paiute Tribe out since it filed its letter of intent April 13, a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesperson said.

“I think they are very serious about the casino,” Mason said, noting the tribe is one of the poorest and at one time had one of the largest reservations in the state.

If the tribe had a third of what their reservation was in the past, it would not need a casino, Mason said, explaining the tribe would have access to such resources as timber.

Recounting a troubled history, Mason said the Burns-Paiute tribe had been exiled from the Harney County area to other reservations, and then some of them returned over the years to reestablish a reservation. They were referred to as a colony, as if they had just come to the area, he said.

One key thing for the tribe is to partner with the local community, he said.

Another key for the tribe might be the fact that the new United States Secretary of Interior is former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who Mason said will be familiar with the area, the issues and already knows the governor involved.