September 10

Wednesday, in Washington D.C., the Bush administration rejected a proposal for an Indian casino to be built just outside of Denver, this came the same day Colorado Gov. Bill Owens blasted the casino developer at a Washington briefing. At one point, Owens even accused him of blackmail.

The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma has stated that it is the rightful owner of 27 million acres in Colorado, including all of Denver and Colorado Springs. The tribe and its financial backer, Longmont venture capitalist Steve Hillard, offered to give up the claim in exchange for permission to build a casino on 500 acres close to the Denver International Airport.

Matt McKeown, the Interior Department's top lawyer for Indian matters, told the developers that the tribe's claim was re-opened and settled in 1965.

In McKeown's letter, dated Tuesday and obtained by The Denver Post on Wednesday, the Interior Department lacks authority to undo the final judgment.

Hillard could not be reached for comment on the Interior Department's decision.

The events Wednesday are a setback for casino proponents, but they don't completely ruin their plan either..

McKeown said the tribe could still try to put a casino in Colorado using a process that would require the approval of Owens, who has come forth as the casino proposal's main opposer. The tribe could choose to sue in federal court, or Congress could grant the tribe the ability to develop a casino in the state of Colorado.

Owens attempted to head off congressional action earlier in the day in a briefing before the staff of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Owens used the same logic as the Bush administration in dismissing the land claim. He said that the state needs to fight the unwanted challenge off giving tribes the right to build casinos in order to payoff what he calls 'blackmail'.

Hillard said the project would create 10,000 jobs and deliver $1 billion over 10 years to Colorado for education programs. Another $100 million a year would go to the impoverished Oklahoma tribe, where unemployment is above 50 percent. He said the federal government needs to compensate the tribe for what he says was a campaign of genocide.