Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The: Land rights group joins casino fight; Leader says tribes are

A national land rights group wants to stop the proposed tribal casino in Kenosha, adding a new voice to an effort that also includes a competing tribal casino, an assortment of Milwaukee civic and governmental leaders and those with moral objections.

The American Land Rights Association, based in Washington state, is urging its membership to oppose the Kenosha project, a joint effort by the Wisconsin-based Menominee tribe and the Connecticut- based Mohegan tribe. The tribes hope to win federal and state approval for an $808 million casino complex at the site of the Dairyland dog track adjacent to I-94, about 35 miles south of Milwaukee.

Chuck Cushman, executive director of the land rights group, said in an interview that his group opposes the Kenosha casino as a prime example of "reservation shopping." Tribes have come under increasing criticism this year for efforts to locate casinos miles away from traditional reservations in order to tap into bigger markets.

"We are opposed to reservation shopping nationally," Cushman said. "The new criteria for sacred Indian ground is a freeway with an off-ramp," he said. His group has chosen to pick its fight with the Mohegan tribe, which has a casino development partnership with the Cowlitz tribe in Washington, as well as the Menominee.

The Mohegans operate one of the largest casinos in the country, the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., which had revenue of about $1.4 billion last year. The Mohegans have lent the Menominees $3.1 million to develop their Kenosha casino plan. The Mohegan tribe's gambling firm would manage the Kenosha casino if it wins the required federal and state approvals.

Cushman, whose group has been involved mostly in efforts opposing creation or expansion of national parks and added protections for endangered animals, promised to stir up opposition on the casino front. The land rights group sent an e-mail this week to thousands of people around the country encouraging them to register their formal opposition to the Kenosha casino with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Cushman said.

Many communities that will be affected by a Kenosha casino have not had a say in the project, he said. Kenosha voters, however, voted in favor of the project in a 2004 referendum.

The bureau is reviewing the Menominee proposal to have the Dairyland site taken into trust by the federal government for the tribe. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Pleasant Prairie on an environmental impact statement on the proposed casino. The report covers social and economic effects as well as environmental concerns.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) have registered their opposition to the Kenosha casino, in correspondence sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. All said the Kenosha casino could hurt the Forest County Potawatomi tribe's Milwaukee casino and harm Milwaukee economically. The letters were obtained from the bureau by the Journal Sentinel through a public records request.

"I am concerned about the serious negative impact that this casino would have on Milwaukee, especially the loss of jobs to Milwaukee's minority communities," Moore said in an Aug. 31 letter to Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Director Terry Virden.

Concern on Potawatomi impact

Barrett said that a Kenosha casino could drain business and lead to layoffs at the Potawatomi casino, echoing an argument Potawatomi tribal leaders have made. Common Council President Willie Hines and several aldermen and Milwaukee County supervisors also wrote to oppose the new casino.

Three Milwaukee business groups also weighed in against the plan: the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Visit Milwaukee, the local tourism promotion group.

Milwaukee Urban League President Ralph Hollmon told the Bureau of Indian Affairs "to carefully consider the negative economic impact that the proposed Kenosha casino would have on Milwaukee." Many of Milwaukee's minorities "would be devastated" by the impact of a Kenosha casino, Hollmon said. He noted that more than half the Potawatomi casino employees are racial minorities.

Evan Zeppos, a spokesman for the Menominee tribe, called criticism by Barrett, Walker and other local officials over the Kenosha casino plan "hypocritical" in light of their support for regional cooperation.

The Menominee tribe commissioned an economic study that said the regional market for casinos was large enough to accommodate both a large Kenosha casino as well as an expanded Milwaukee casino. The Potawatomi tribe has its own economic report suggesting deep cuts in its casino revenue from a Kenosha casino.

Zeppos also disagreed with criticism by Moore, Hollmon and others about Milwaukee minorities losing jobs.

"It's because Potawatomi has become such a big political player that perhaps it clouds the policy judgment" of those critics, he said.

Moore didn't respond to requests for comment.

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