Shoshone-Bannock tribal leaders have finally agreed to June 29 for the opening session of their negotiations with the state on a tribal gambling compact.
But they remain angered at Gov. Cecil Andrus and state legislative leaders for their efforts to deny them and the state's other Indian tribes the right to offer a wide range of gambling on their reservations."It's borderline discrimination and a prejudicial way of handling affairs with the Indian people," Marvin Osborne, tribal business council member, said.
Osborne, along with fellow council member Keith Ingawanup, tribal gaming manager Nathan Small and tribal attorney Jeanette Wolfley will comprise the Shoshone-Bannock negotiating team that will meet with Andrus attorney Jon Carter, Deputy Attorney General David High, Law Enforcement Director Richard Cade and state Lottery Director Wally Hedrick.
A day later, state negotiators will met with officials from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in the first session on a regulatory compact for it. The Kootenai Tribe has also asked for compact negotiations, although no date has been set for those talks to begin.
But even before the bargaining starts, the state is being accused of acting in bad faith because of the push under way to approve a proposed constitutional amendment attempting to prohibit casino gaming on the reservations under a combination of federal and state laws and court decisions. Lawmakers want to limit any gaming beyond pari-mutuel betting and the lottery to bingo and raffles by the tribes or charitable organizations.
A special legislative hearing has been scheduled for June 25 in Boise to begin formulating the kind of proposals leaders contemplate approving should Andrus recall lawmakers on July 27 to deal with the gaming question.
So far, regulatory compacts have been approved with 34 tribes in nine states - California, Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.