Gov. Kathleen Blanco told the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians that she will oppose any attempt by the tribe to open a casino in Louisiana, according to a public letter sent to the Jena chief.
Blanco said she has asked Attorney General Charles Foti's office to research whether the state can legally block the tribe from opening a casino. "I must be upfront with you and tell you that this means I feel the duty to do all that I can to oppose the establishment of any new casino," she wrote.
The Jena Band has struggled to open a casino since being recognized by the federal government in 1995. After several failed starts, the tribe has decided to stick with its historical home, asking Blanco to work with them on opening a facility in Grant Parish, a rural parish north of Alexandria that has opposed gambling.
Lawsuit likely
Expressing disappointment with Blanco's decision not to negotiate, the tribe's chief and attorney said the Jena Band will press forward.
This means the tribe likely will sue the state to try to force Blanco to negotiate on an agreement for a full-fledged casino, while in the meantime looking to open up a bingo parlor with new electronic bingo machines that play much like slot machines and have been popular in other states, Chief Christine Norris said.
Under federal law, an Indian tribe must have an agreement with the state to open a Class III gambling facility, which is a traditional casino with slot machines and table games such as blackjack, poker and roulette.
However, tribes can open up Class II facilities, or bingo halls, without any agreements with a state. That would allow the Jena Band to begin making money while pursuing a full-fledged casino.
"We will never give up our right to have a Class III facility," said Norris, pointing out that the other three tribes in the state have casinos, as well as agreements -- formally known as compacts -- worked out with the state that allow those casinos to operate.
Laws unclear
It was unclear Tuesday how far Blanco can go to stop the Jena Band from opening some kind of gambling facility. The federal laws governing Indian gambling are complicated and sometimes contradictory.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, passed by Congress in 1988, requires governors to negotiate "in good faith" with Indian tribes. But the U.S. Supreme Court concluded in 1996 that a Florida tribe could not sue the governor to force him to negotiate, citing the state's sovereign immunity.
While that decision could make it hard for the Jena Band to prevail in court against Blanco, the lawsuit also would provide the foundation for the tribe to seek redress directly from the federal Department of Interior, which oversees Indian issues, said Julie Wilkerson, the tribe's attorney.
The courts have yet to sort out whether federal laws allow for the secretary of the Interior Department to work out an agreement with a tribe to open a casino.
But Wilkerson said the Jena Band should have a good case to make with the federal government, particularly because Louisiana is rife with gambling, including the three tribal casinos, as well as 15 non-Indian casinos and throngs of truck stops with video poker. Many of the court decisions about disagreements between states and tribes over casinos have been in states that do not have other forms of casino gambling.
Norris said the tribe will look to start a bingo facility as soon as the federal government approves its proposal to use its land for gaming purposes. Now, the land can only be used for educational or health care purposes. Wilkerson said the Interior Department has the application to use the land for gaming but that the tribe is still working on some environmental assessments.
The attorney general's office will look into what options Blanco has in trying to oppose the Jena Band's gambling efforts, said Kris Wartelle, Foti's spokeswoman. "If there are ways out there to oppose them, we are in the process of researching them right now," she said.
Foster deal rejected
The Jena Band's attempts to obtain a casino have been controversial, particularly a move in 2002 to open a casino near the Texas border in southwest Louisiana. The Interior Department rejected a deal the tribe had worked out with then-Gov. Mike Foster, saying Louisiana's demand for a percentage of the gambling revenues was an improper tax.
U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who was then in the House of Representatives, was a vocal critic of that deal. In the past few weeks he has come out strongly against any agreement with the Jena Band, originally criticizing Blanco for meeting with tribal representatives in October.
Vitter applauded the governor's statements Tuesday. "The signal today was very strong and clear. . . . I think there is a united front," he said.
Vitter's opposition to the Jena Band's quest for a casino is not without its own controversy.
Since the 2002 casino deal for the Jean Band was rejected, Vitter has been linked to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist for a rival Louisiana tribe that fought against the proposal and who has since become a target of a federal criminal probe.
Vitter took political help in 2002 from a group connected to Abramoff and allowed the lobbyist to hold a fund-raiser for him in 2003. But Vitter has said his opposition to the Jena Band's casino proposals is based solely on his long-standing opposition to gambling.