Indian Gaming > North Fork Rancheria lobbies for action on casino

November 5, 2009

North Fork Rancheria lobbies for action on casino

Elaine Bethel Fink, the chair of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California, is hoping the Obama administration will make a decision on its off-reservation casino.

The tribe wants to build a casino in Madera, about 35 miles away from the reservation. The tribe is seeking a two-part determination under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has issued a draft environmental impact statement for the project. But there appears to have been little movement from the federal government in over a year.

"There has been a delay, but in a new administration, there are new players," Fink told McClatchy Newspapers. "They have to come up to speed on the issues."

Fink is in Washington, D.C., this week for the White House Tribal Nations Conference with President Barack Obama.

Get the Story:
California tribe seeks decisions on off-reservation casino (McClatchy Newspapers 11/4)