And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: "Victor Rocha" Tribal sovereignty gets legislative look Variety of issues, from gambling to license plates, is on the table as lawmakers begin interim study. By Scott Rothschild http://www.wichitaeagle.com/news/regional/docs/tribal0804_txt.htm Eagle Topeka bureau TOPEKA -- As Indian tribes assert their sovereignty, a legislative committee Tuesday was briefed on a wide range of conflicts between the state and tribal governments. ' 'Sovereignty is at the core,'' said Sen. Lana Oleen, R-Manhattan, and chair of the Joint Committee on Tribal Relations. ''We need to know where each side is coming from.'' Kansas has compacts with four tribes that allow the tribes to operate casinos on their reservations. They are the Prairie Band Potawatomi, the Sac and Fox, the Iowa and the Kickapoo. Oleen said she hoped to bring in legal experts to brief the committee on how local, state and federal governments work with tribal sovereignty. She also hopes the committee, composed of legislators and state officials, will visit the tribes to get better acquainted with their governments. Recently, the tribes have battled the state and local governments in court on a variety of issues. The Potawatomi have sold their own vehicle license tags, issued speeding tickets on a stretch of highway through their reservation and tried to enforce leash and fencing laws on non-Indians who live on the reservation. The Kickapoo have received a temporary court order barring Brown County officials from entering their reservation to serve civil court papers or repossess vehicles. And last year, the Sac and Fox, Kickapoo and Iowa got a court order to prevent the state from collecting certain motor fuels taxes. The state also is locked in a dispute with the U.S. Interior Department, which has decided that the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma can operate a casino in Kansas. The tribe has proposed establishing a casino near La Cygne Lake. Gov. Bill Graves' chief legal counsel Natalie Haag said the state will likely seek a court order to try and prevent the tribe from operating a casino. Graves opposes allowing the Oklahoma tribe to open a casino, saying it would be unfair to the four tribes in Kansas and that the federal government should respect the wishes of the state. Amid these legal fights, several state legislators want Kansas to re-negotiate the compacts that were approved in 1995. They want the state to get some revenue from the casinos and, in exchange, they would grant the tribes the exclusive right to run the gambling operations. So far, tribal spokesmen said they are not interested in such a proposal. Oleen said the legal skirmishes between the tribes and local governments are going on across the country. She said in Kansas she would rather see the sides talk it out. ' 'We need to discuss the issue and make progress, not through the courtrooms. We have an opportunity to do something different,'' she said. 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/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
