Casino news source: Beloit Daily News - http://www.beloitdailynews.com/
Ho-Chunk Nation objects to casino again
Posted: Friday, Jan 26, 2007 - 02:40:38 pm CST
By Julie Becker
Daily News staff writer
Tribe claims part of the project violates the National Historic Preservation Act
In a continued effort to bring the Beloit Casino Complex to a screeching halt, the Ho-Chunk Nation is demanding that the Central Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) reconsider the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.
According to the Ho-Chunk, the EIS violates Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act - which identifies tribes' ancestral connections to the land proposed for development - and must be returned to the Midwest Regional Office of the BIA for further review.
“The Midwest BIA's Section 106 process was fatally flawed, undermining the validity of the EIS,” Ho-Chunk President George Lewis said in a release Thursday. “But the Historical Preservation Act is clear... and the Beloit application clearly fails to meet its requirements.”
According to the History of Indian Occupancy report, Appendix G of the EIS for the Beloit Casino, compiled by James Oberly of the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, the area designated for the casino falls within “united tribes” territory. The land can be traced back to the Chippewa tribes, as well as the Ottawas, Potawatomis and others.
“Modern-day Beloit, Wisconsin, including the proposed casino site and much of the Rock River Valley of Wisconsin and Illinois, was recognized at the 1816 treaty as ‘united tribes' territory,” Oberly concluded in a portion of his report.
However, the Ho-Chunk continue to claim that the Bad River and St. Croix bands of the Chippewa have no ancestral or aboriginal ties to the land. The group had requested additional review of the EIS on three separate occasions, most recently in March 2006.
At that time, the Midwest Regional Office found no indication of cultural resources connected to the Ho-Chunk, said Herb Nelson, environmental specialist at the office.
Joe Hunt, spokesman for the Beloit Casino Complex, said the continued objections are no longer surprising - they're just a part of the process.
“We've tried to work closely with the Ho-Chunk throughout this whole process, and we'll continue to do so,” Hunt said. “We're just excited that the Trust Land Application has gone on to the federal level, and our focus remains on getting through the process.”
The Trust Land Application paperwork is now under review by George Skibine, director of Indian Gaming Management at the federal BIA office. He expects his office to complete the review within the next 60 days, at which time the paperwork would be forwarded to the secretary of Indian Affairs at the Interior office, for staff review. The final step would be review and approval by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle. |
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