\nIn alliance with the Alabama-Coushatta and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribes, state Reps. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) and James White (R-Woodville) authored a resolution in March that would authorize gambling on all Native American lands. <\/p>\n
\tIf passed, House Joint Resolution 129 would lead to a November ballot measure proposing a state constitutional amendment allowing gambling on tribal lands. <\/p>\n
\tRonnie Thomas, vice chairman of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe, said he is optimistic that Texans will pass the amendment.
\n\tOut-of-state gaming organizations have shown opposition, but if the legislation passes and the issue goes on the ballot, there is a high chance that voters will approve the measure, Thomas said. <\/p>\n
\tIn 2001, the Alabama-Coushatta tribe opened a casino on its reservation in Livingston. However, after nine months of earning approximately $1 million in monthly revenue, a federal court ordered that the casino be shut down. Currently, the Kickapoo tribe runs the only functioning casino in the state in Eagle Pass.<\/p>\n
\tUT anthropology professor Shannon Speed said gaming rights for Texas\u2019 Native American tribes vary according to the method the tribes used to retain federal recognition.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe Kickapoo tribe in Texas managed to gain their recognition [in 1983] by applying for it through the Bureau of Indian Affairs,\u201d Speed said. \u201cThe Alabama-Coushatta gained recognition through a congressional act, which stated that the tribe could not engage in any activity that the state of Texas did not allow its citizens to engage in. Because operating a casino in Texas is illegal, this has become the basis of the disparity in tribes\u2019 rights to engage in gaming activities.\u201d <\/p>\n
\tBecause Native American tribes represent sovereign nations rather than minority groups, Speed said restricting tribal gaming rights within reservations limits the tribes\u2019 ability to self-determine with regard to their economic structure. <\/p>\n
\t\u201cIf you are pursuing your civil rights as a minority, you are pursuing your rights as a citizen of a nation, but most native tribes are actually looking for their rights as sovereign nations apart from the U.S.,\u201d Speed said. \u201cSo if tribes are unable to participate in gaming based on an act from a foreign government, it really encroaches on the tribes\u2019 sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSpeed, who is a member of the Kickapoo tribe, said legal gaming has the potential to create huge financial and cultural opportunities for the Alabama-Coushatta tribe, as the casino in Eagle Pass did for the Kickapoo tribe.<\/p>\n
\t\u201c<\/p>\n
\tRep. Thompson said the Legislature should pass the resolution to let Texans decide on equal rights for Texas\u2019 tribes.<\/p>\n
\t\u201c[Rep. White and I] ask the Legislature to let the people decide,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cWe believe the voters will decide to let them do the same thing the Kickapoo are doing in Eagle Pass. Let the people decide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Posted by:<\/strong> Dr Crapology on April 6, 2015, 9:06 pm<\/p>\n \tIn favor, as it would be closer to home and the taxes would stay in the state of Texas rather than neighboring states. Go to any casino parking garage in a neighboring state and well over75 to 80% of the license plates are Texas. This is true in Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. <\/p>\n \tNot in favor, they will probably screw it up and offer awful games such as 8 deck shoes for BJ, BJ games that pay 6\/5 on a natural 21, card craps, etc. You name it. Besides Rose and Doc like to travel so having casino somewhere else is a little bonus.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In alliance with the Alabama-Coushatta and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribes, state Reps. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) and James White (R-Woodville) authored a resolution in March that would authorize gambling on all Native American lands. If passed, House Joint Resolution…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}