(Austin, TX) – Today, Senator Jose Rodríguez (D-El Paso) and State Representative Senfronia Thompson (D- Houston) filed SJR 51 and HJR 129, respectively, proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing gaming on tribal lands belonging to the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (also known as the Tigua Indian Tribe).
“We are proposing a constitutional amendment that will bring equal treatment, fairness and equity to our three Texas tribes. We already have gaming in Texas but for only one tribe and that’s not right. The Alabama-Coushatta in southeast Texas and the Tiguas in El Paso deserve equal treatment with the Kickapoos in Eagle Pass,” said Sen. Rodríguez and Rep.Thompson.
The current inequity exists because the Alabama-Coushatta and Tigua tribes were federally recognized under the Restoration Act in 1987. The Restoration Act prohibits the Alabama-Coushatta and Tigua tribes from participating in all gaming activities that the state of Texas prohibits. The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas were federally recognized in 1983 without any prohibition on the tribe's right to offer gaming.
"Gaming would benefit the entire state, and especially benefit El Paso, in my Senate district. In El Paso County, gaming by the Tigua Nation would provide jobs for the community, as well as valuable funds for health care, education, and other opportunities for the tribe," Senator Rodríguez said. "Statewide, full gaming would add another regional attraction; the more visitors we have, the more hotel nights, restaurant patrons and shoppers we have. The state currently is engaged in a budgeting debate, and seeking additional revenue sources. Well, here is an opportunity to do just that, an opportunity that more than two dozen states, including our neighbors in Oklahoma, already have taken."
The Kickapoos have seen a tremendous economic growth to its reservations and to the City of Eagle Pass since the opening of the Lucky Eagle Casino in 1996. They are proof positive that tribal gaming can be a win-win.