Tribal leader talks casino strife
Since Diane Enos joined the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Tribal Council in 1990, the tribe has nearly doubled in size, to 10,000 members, and enjoyed significant economic growth that looks set to continue, with plans in the works for new attractions. But it hasn’t been without issues.
Enos, now in her second fouryear term as president, has been outspoken about a legal dispute with the Tohono O’odham Nation over casino development near Glendale.
In a conversation last week, Enos discussed the casino issue and also talked about economic development, new entertainment attractions coming to the reservation and a possible theme park on tribal land.
The following is an edited excerpt of that conversation.
Question: Tohono O’odham Nation leaders said the Salt River and Gila River Indian communities oppose a casino on tribal land near Glendale to protect their market share of gaming in the Valley. Is that why you are fighting this?
Answer: No, it isn’t the total reason. If you go back in time during the negotiations for the compact all of the tribes at that time, and there was a 17-tribe coalition that included Tohono O’odham, we sat down and put all of our trust on the table with each other. And during those negotiations, Tohono O’odham never once — never once — told us that they were seeking off-reservation gaming, which is what Glendale is.
When we went to the voters on Proposition 202, it was our commitment not only to ourselves but to the voters of Arizona that gaming would be limited. That’s what Gov. (Jane Dee) Hull wanted. That’s what she demanded up front.
And Tohono O’odham stood with us and said no more casinos in the Phoenix area, limited gaming, gaming only on existing tribal lands. That’s the main reason we’re fighting the fight we’re fighting and will continue to do so.
Q: What are the legal options for Salt River and the other tribes if the Tohono O’odham leaders proceed with casino development near Glendale?
A: Legal options are something that our lawyers continue to work on. I am a lawyer, but I’m not obviously involved in this litigation, only as a tribal leader. But I know that any time you have litigation, as a lawyer, that there are lots of processes. It’s not over yet.
Q: Do you think the legal dispute over the Grand Canyon Skywalk development on the Hualapai Reservation in northern Arizona will discourage investment in economic development on Native American communities?
A: I think we’ll see where that ends up, because when you do development on a reservation, each situation can be different depending on who the parties are. With Hualapai, I’m not sure I know all of the intricacies involved, so it would be difficult for me to say.
But I will say that at Salt River, if you come and do development here, we have a clear methodology in play, and if there were to be disputes, what we’ve done is set up arbitration clauses in our leases and in our contracts.
Q: Have any redevelopment plans surfaced for the former Scottsdale 6 Drive-in site at Hayden and McKellips roads or the former shooting range on the Beeline Highway?
A: Well, not for the Beeline Highway site. That’s an area that I think that a lot of the community wants it to be (left) as it is. That’s a beautiful area. Personally, I hope we leave it alone.
The Scottsdale 6 is on allotted land, and people that have an interest in that land, individual landowners, that is their prerogative. And right now, I don’t know what’s going on with that because I’m not a landowner there.
Q: Is there anything new on the economic-development horizon for Salt River?
A: One of the main things that we’ve been able to do is to create an entertainment district here. ... We not only have (Salt River Fields at Talking Stick), which is pretty good, but there are year-round things occurring there.
At the same time, the butterfly pavilion (opening May 25) came up in that area. I think there is a golf driving range that’s coming up there.
And we get approached from time to time by people that want to develop … a theme park. So if there’s a theme park that comes to Salt River, it has to be of the best quality.
We’ve been approached, and I can’t tell you the names of these folks. But we’ve had some interesting proposals on the table. So I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point, we get down to serious business in negotiating with one of those builders.
Q: Is Salt River considering amending its sign ordinance to allow electronic message boards along Loop 101?
A: On the table right now as far as taking public comment is a pilot project. There are a lot of people that are opposed to it, myself included. I really believe that it’s not in our best interest to start doing digital signage on Loop 101.