The Native village of Eklutna applied this week for federal permission to operate a gambling center on tribal land about 20 miles from Anchorage.

The village asked the National Indian Gaming Commission for Class II gaming authorization, which allows bingo, pull tabs or an electronic version of those games.

The village said in a written statement Friday that its proposed gaming center could be positive for the local economy, creating new jobs and enhancing tourism.

"We were told this would not be a full-on casino type operation," said city attorney Jim Reeves.

Anchorage and state officials said they are watching the village request closely. The Washington, D.C.-based commission must rule on it within 90 days.

In the past, Alaska has fought off attempts to establish casinos or high-stakes pull-tab games on tribal land here.

The only gambling allowed in Alaska is for nonprofit purposes, though even nonprofit gambling here is a big business, with spending exceeding $349 million in 2005, according to state reports.

Under Alaska law, any kind of casino is illegal, including charitable or Native-owned.

A key factor in getting federal approval for non-casino Class II gambling is determining whether Eklutna's tribal land can even be used for gambling.

The village, which filed Tuesday, asked federal regulators to decide whether the 8-acre plot on which they hope to build a gaming center -- a family-owned Native allotment near the Birchwood Airport -- meets the definition of Indian land.

Indian land is a legal term for Native reservations, trust lands or allotments over which tribes exert government power.

The fed's decision turns on whether the land fits in this category, said Anchorage attorney Lloyd Miller on Friday night.

So far, the commission has rejected previous requests from Eklutna and other Native villages to use Native allotments for gaming. In 1995, the commission said it was unclear whether Eklutna exercised "governmental power" over the allotment it wanted to use then.

An attorney for Eklutna said Friday the tribe is pursuing gaming again because the past legal uncertainties seem to have cleared up.

The commission has allowed gaming on Lower 48 Native allotments, said the attorney, Marissa Flannery of Anchorage.

Several other Alaska Native tribes have obtained federal gaming permits on tribal-owned trust lands that are not allotments. For example, the village of Kake operated a Class II gaming center until the town hit financial difficulties due to the loss of jobs in logging and fishing. The bingo hall closed last year, a Kake village official said Friday.

Metlakatla and Klawock also have obtained Class II gaming permits from the gaming commission.

Anchorage officials said Friday they want to know whether they'd have any regulatory authority over the land if Eklutna is allowed to pursue gambling.

"The land that the village identifies as its tribal land is within Anchorage. From the municipality's point of view, municipal laws apply there. The village might assert that some certain law doesn't apply to the village lands. We'd have to look at that on a case-by-case basis," said Reeves, the city attorney.

The city hasn't dealt often with oversight issues on tribal allotments because few of them exist within Anchorage, he said.

 

Daily News reporter Elizabeth Bluemink can be reached at ebluemink@adn.com or 257-4317.