07:48 PM EST on Thursday, December 21, 2006

By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer

Less than two months after voters roundly rejected its casino bid, the Narragansett Indian tribe is continuing its gambling quest — this time in pursuit of a slot parlor on its land in Charlestown.

And the tribe has approached state congressional leaders about repealing a federal law that could block their efforts.

“We don’t want table games. We don’t want roulette. We want what the state has,” Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas said yesterday.

Thomas has requested a meeting with members of Rhode Island’s delegation about overturning the Chafee amendment, a law introduced by U.S. Sen. John Chafee in 1996 that bars the tribe from federal Indian gaming privileges on its 1,800 acres. It requires the Narragansetts, unlike most tribes, to seek voter approval for any gaming on their land.

“I believe it’s been utterly unfair. It’s time for justice,” Thomas said. The tribe, in many respects, is coming full circle since plans for a bingo hall on tribal lands surfaced more than 15 years ago. The tribe has since fielded proposals for Las Vegas-style casinos in West Greenwich, along the Providence waterfront and most recently in West Warwick.

The state’s congressional delegation yesterday expressed a willingness to meet with Thomas, but appeared little swayed by the tribe’s latest campaign.

Sen. Jack Reed and Rep. James R. Langevin, whose congressional district encompasses tribal lands, are on record supporting the Chafee amendment.

“The congressman is interested and willing to see what the chief has to say and we’ll take it from there,” said Joy Fox, a spokeswoman for Langevin.

Reed’s camp held a similar stance.

“Senator Reed is always pleased to work with the Narragansett tribe and he looks forward to meeting with Chief Thomas and other leaders of the Narragansetts. Theirs is a proud and honorable history and the senator has worked to make sure that federal agencies are responsive to the tribe’s requests for funding under national programs for Native Americans,” Chip Unruh, Reed’s press secretary, wrote in an e-mail. He added: “Senator Reed has also been clear that he doesn’t support casino gaming in Rhode Island.”

Senator-elect Sheldon Whitehouse has voiced divergent views in comments before and after his Election Day victory. When asked during a Channel 10 debate about possible steps to allow the Narragansetts to build on their land, he said, “I think it would be fair. As I said, the Narragansetts, I think, have taken the short end of the stick a lot. … I think that leveling the playing field for them is a fair thing to consider.”

In an interview days after the election, he said he had no intention of repealing the act.

Yesterday, Whitehouse’s office released this statement: “I will be happy to join my colleagues in Rhode Island’s congressional delegation in meeting with members of the Narragansett tribe. I am opposed, however, to the expansion of casino gambling in Rhode Island.”

Perhaps the tribe’s best bet remains in Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy. As a freshman congressman, he blasted Chafee for what he labeled a discriminatory measure. He has since retreated, saying efforts to change the Chafee amendment will be futile as long as the rest of the local delegation support the status quo.

“He’s always been a supporter of the tribe. He’s always been concerned that they are treated fairly and they have the same opportunities afforded to every other tribe,” Robin Costello, Kennedy’s spokeswoman, said yesterday.

“I’m sure he’s open to discussing the fairness of the Chafee amendment.”

Thomas requested in a Dec. 14 letter to the delegation that he wanted to meet in February to discuss several issues, including clarity about the tribe’s trust lands, fairness regarding the Chafee amendment and funding. The chief is set to meet with Kennedy Feb. 13.

The late senator included the so-called Chafee amendment as a provision in a massive spending package in 1996. It followed a series of court rulings that found that the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act superseded the 1978 agreement that gave the tribe its 1,800 acres. That Indian land claims settlement specified that the Narragansett “lands shall be subject to the civil and criminal laws and jurisdiction of the State of Rhode Island.”

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988 was meant to be a compromise between the rights of tribes and the interests of the states. It permitted tribes to operate casinos on their land in states where similar gambling was already allowed. But it required that tribes work out compacts with the states.

Chafee explained, in sponsoring the amendment, that it was merely closing a loophole created by the Indian gaming law. He said it maintained the 1978 settlement with the tribe. The Chafee amendment has since been upheld in courts.

Supporters of the amendment insist it is simply the restating of the settlement terms the Narragansett leaders agreed to in 1978.

“It would be absolutely horrible for the United States Congress to undo the agreement that Congress, the state and the tribe reached,” said Joseph S. Larisa Jr., Charlestown’s solicitor on Indian affairs.

“It’s really whether the Narragansetts stick to the deal they agreed to.”

The Narragansetts would like to build a slot parlor on par with Newport Grand on slightly more than 100 acres of its land off South County Trail, Thomas said. The establishment would feature video slot machines and a restaurant. Newport Grand has 1,070 machines

The tribe would not necessarily be working with its casino partner Harrah’s Entertainment, but would be open to bids from other companies, he said.

He said he believes the tribe is well within its rights, particularly as Lincoln Park evolves into a resort casino.

“The issue of fairness deserves to be looked at. We believe it at least deserves a hearing,” he said.

Asked about voters’ opposition to the tribe’s West Warwick casino plans last month, Thomas said that from his perspective, they didn’t want to change the state Constitution. More than 63 percent rejected amending the state Constitution to give Harrah’s and the Narragansett Indian tribe exclusive rights to operate the state’s only private casino.

“We want it heard. Look at the issue. That’s what we’re asking,” Thomas said.

Larisa points to a key difference between Lincoln Park, Newport Grand and the Narragansetts’ gaming plans: the state gets 60 percent of the revenue from Lincoln Park and Newport Grand, which is put toward programs, Larisa said.

“There are no privately operated slot parlors in the state of Rhode Island,” he said.

The town will vigorously fight the tribe’s efforts, he said.