From: alra@governance.net Subject: New Reservation Shopping Poll Congressional Briefing Tuesday Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association Alliance Against Reservation Shopping PO Box 400, Battle Ground, WA 98604 (360) 687-3087 – Fax: (360) 687-2973 Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE - Washington, DC 20003 mike@hardimanconsulting.com -- 202-489-4893 New Reservation Shopping Poll Congressional Briefing Tuesday You’re invited. New Poll Finds Popular Opposition to Off-Reservation Casinos Tribal Coalition Calls on Federal Agency for List of Tribes Applying for Off-Reservation Casinos http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060421/20060421005676.html?.v=1 With Congress considering tighter regulations on off-reservation gaming, a poll to be released Tuesday, April 25, finds voters strongly opposed to reservation shopping(1). This practice entails tribes partnering with developers, lobbyists and elected officials to obtain property outside their ancestral lands for the purpose of establishing a casino. The two firms responsible for the poll, Hart Research Associates, Inc. and Public Opinion Strategies, will present their research in an April 25 meeting with tribal leaders and Congressional staffers. Their findings include: * Fifty-five percent of Americans oppose Indian tribes acquiring lands far from their historic homelands to build casinos. * Seventy-nine percent expressed concerns that casino companies and developers are exploiting the special historical status of Native Americans. * Eighty percent of voters said the possibility of developers and lobbyists contributing money to politicians in exchange for land recognition is of personal concern to them. * Eighty-five percent of participants said they would like to see the government assist Native Americans in economic development other than casinos. To promote further discussion of this issue the tribal Coalition Against Reservation Shopping is calling on the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to release an updated list of land-trust applications. The BIA has been unresponsive to requests for this public record, which is believed to contain several new applications. WHEN: Tuesday, April 25, at 1:30 p.m. ET WHERE: 1334 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-6201 CONTACT: Ryan Richert Edelman Media Relations Office: 312-240-2743 Cell: 312-498-1215 ryan.richert@edelman.com ABOUT THE COALITION: The Coalition Against Reservation Shopping is a collection of Indian tribes and other organizations concerned about protecting Indian sovereignty, promoting sound federal Indian policy that strengthens tribal economics, and raising concerns about non-Indian developers and the growing trend of tribes seeking to establish casinos far from reservations. The coalition's mission is to create wider awareness about the practice of "reservation shopping" and the exploitation of Indian tribes by non-Indian developers and speculators. (1) Findings based on a joint Peter D. Heart Research Associates, Inc.-Public Opinion Strategies survey of 750 registered voters across the nation, as well as four focus groups conducted in Columbus, Ohio and Albuquerque, N.M. Feb 1 - 7, 2006. Contact: Press Release Source ~ Edelman Edelman Media Relations Ryan Richert, 312-240-2743 or 312-498-1215 (Cell) ryan.richert@edelman.com http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060421/20060421005676.html?.v=1 -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.