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WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation looks to take another step to make casino gaming a reality.
A special council session is scheduled to start 10 a.m. today in the Council Chambers in Window Rock, Ariz.
The special session has three items on the agenda, but the biggest talking point is the creation of a Navajo Gaming Enterprise, to handle gaming business for the Navajo Nation.
The proposed law change needs a two-thirds majority vote from the council to pass.
Legislation 0431-06 would amend Navajo law titles one and five, to allow the creation of the gaming enterprise.
The act would create a board of directors, a chief executive officer and establish the enterprise.
"The Enterprise shall operate under the legislative oversight on Navajo Nation Council," according to subsection 1718 of the legislation.
The statement, however, doesn't sit well with Council Delegate Ervin Keeswood, of Hogback.
"The way (the legislation) is written could be problematic for communities on Navajo," he said, adding that some chapters have authority to explore gaming possibilities.
He said that if the council were to oversee the gaming enterprise, that power could hinder the autonomy of chapters who have expressed interest in the possibilities of gaming.
"(Today), at least, I will offer an amendment to change that. Hogback and other chapters are given latitude for gaming," he said.
Council Delegate LoRenzo Bates, of Upper Fruitland, said he heard more concern, not about the legislation, but about President Joe Shirley Jr.'s signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Basha and De Rito Hospitality.
Shirley entered into an agreement with the company to look at viable options to develop a casino in Navajo, Ariz., about 55 miles west of Gallup in I-40.
First, a temporary casino would be built. Followed by a permanent facility, said George Hardeen, communications director for the president.
He said that although Basha and De Rito are corporations, the practice for the president signing a MOA in a government to government scenario is that the document should first go before the Intergovernmental Relations Committee (IGR).
Keeswood, who is the chairman of the committee, said he doesn't see an immediate need for the IGR committee to ratify the MOA.
"(The MOA) doesn't do a disservice to anyone," he said, adding that any type of settled agreement between the president's office and Basha and De Rito would eventually have to come before the council, or at least a committee.
Another item on the agenda is the approval of a "Bennett Freeze" compact between the Hopi and Navajo Nations. The two Nations have been at odds over about 700,000 acres of land.
According to press releases from the president's office, in 1966, Robert Bennett, former Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner, imposed a ban of construction by both nations on the land. Since then, many families have gone without any modern amenities such as electricity and running water.
The Solicitor's Office of the U.S. Department of the Interior informed the two tribes that there is no legal impediment to approval of a compact, making way for an agreement between the nations to lift the freeze.
The other item on the agenda is a proposed endorsement of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz., who is seeking reelection.
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