Would-Be Tribes Entice Investors

From The New York Times:

It has become a ritual in every part of the nation: a group of people of American Indian heritage, eyeing potential gambling profits, band together and seek federal recognition as a tribe.

But in their quest, these groups have created another tribe in search of wealth: the troop of genealogists, historians, treaty experts, lobbyists and lawyers they hire to guide them through the process. And the crucial players in this brigade are the casino investors who can pay for it all.

There are now 291 groups seeking federal recognition as tribes, and many have already signed with investors seeking a piece of the nation’s $15-billion-a-year Indian gambling industry. Among the dozen or so groups awaiting final determinations from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, two-thirds have casino investors bankrolling them, said Eric Eberhard, a lawyer specializing in Indian law.

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