MESCALERO, N.M. (Headlight) — A federal judge has ruled against the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
The tribe has long sought to operate a casino in New Mexico. The Deming Headlight reports U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle upheld a decision by the National Indian Gaming Commission that the Fort Sill Apache was not eligible to game in the southwestern state.
Fort Sill is a federally recognized tribe located in Oklahoma that has land at Akela Flats, located 18 miles east of Deming. Fort Sill tried to open a small casino on the land in 2008 after it was donated to the tribe in the 1990s.