(Deming) – New Mexico's highest court has turned down a request by an Oklahoma-based American Indian tribe that sought to force Gov. Susana Martinez to sign a gambling compact with them.
The state Supreme Court Monday issued its denial of the Fort Sill Apache's petition. The justices offered no explanation for their decision.
The tribe filed its request earlier this year, saying Martinez ignored requests by its chairman to sign on to existing compacts.
The tribe wants to operate a casino on land at Akela in Luna County that was put into trust in 2002.
Tribal officials have said it doesn't matter that the tribe's land hasn't yet been federally approved for gambling.
Martinez argued that the tribe first has to have eligible land before her office can negotiate a compact.
The Fort Sill Apache tribe is the successor to the Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apache tribes, with homelands in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. The tribe purchased property at Akela Flats in Luna County in 1998.
That property was made tribal trust land in 2002 and designated a reservation in 2011.
The state Supreme Court Monday issued its denial of the Fort Sill Apache's petition. The justices offered no explanation for their decision.
The tribe filed its request earlier this year, saying Martinez ignored requests by its chairman to sign on to existing compacts.
The tribe wants to operate a casino on land at Akela in Luna County that was put into trust in 2002.
Tribal officials have said it doesn't matter that the tribe's land hasn't yet been federally approved for gambling.
Martinez argued that the tribe first has to have eligible land before her office can negotiate a compact.
The Fort Sill Apache tribe is the successor to the Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apache tribes, with homelands in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. The tribe purchased property at Akela Flats in Luna County in 1998.
That property was made tribal trust land in 2002 and designated a reservation in 2011.
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