And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "Victor Rocha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Tribes not prohibited from working out payments to communities Statewire WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) -- American Indian tribes can work out payments to communities allowing them to open casinos, but those payments cannot be part of a federally approved compact, a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman says. A letter earlier this month by BIA Director Kevin Gover to the Forest County Potawatomi tribe disallowed a guaranteed annual payment of nearly $7 million by the tribe to the county and city of Milwaukee. Such a payment amounts to a tax on a sovereign nation and could not be allowed by the BIA, Gover said. The Potawatomi voluntarily agreed to honor the payment, but communities became concerned that tribes could not be held legally responsible for any promised payments. The Lac du Flambeau Chippewa currently are searching for a site to open a casino in Waukesha County. Richard Hackler, a BIA spokesman, said Tuesday that Gover' s decision essentially banned any payment agreement from the compacts that must be approved by the BIA before an off-reservation casino is approved. But Hackler said the BIA cannot stop tribes from making legally binding side agreements. " If there is an agreement between governments, they can do that, " Hackler said. Hackler said the BIA will not give its approval to any payments in a compact that are not typical and usual development costs, such as payments for police and fire services and necessary sewer and water hookups. http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=75789981 Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
