Jemez Pueblo Lt. Governor Reacts To Interior’s Casino Ruling

JEMEZ PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) – The lieutenant governor of Jemez Pueblo says the U.S. Department of the Interior missed the point in rejecting the pueblo’s bid for trust land nearly 300 miles away in Anthony for a casino.

Pueblo Lt. Governor Paul Chinana says the casino’s underlying premise is that its revenue would help Jemez fund training to create jobs and services at the pueblo.

In addition, he says, the casino would provide jobs for southern New Mexico residents. The Interior Department says the proposed trust land 293 miles away was too far to provide jobs to tribal members or could encourage them to leave to get jobs.

Chinana says casino revenue would allow Jemez residents to be trained under a casino-funded scholarship program and return to the pueblo to provide services not now available.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)