The announcement was made after the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., said earlier this month that the proposal of the Jemez Pueblo off-reservation casino in Anthony is under administrative review, said Scott Scanland, Sunland Park racetrack lobbyist.
In 2004, the Jemez Pueblo, located north of New Mexico, proposed building a $55 million casino on 124 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 10 and O'Hara Road State Highway 404.
The proposal was rejected in January 2008 when the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a memorandum to the pueblo and other tribes stating that the project was too far from the tribe's home reservation.
Anthony, N.M., is about 300 miles from the Jemez Pueblo.
The application has not changed but is being reconsidered, said David Wilson, a spokesman for the Jemez Pueblo.
Mescalero and the Sunland Park officials said the proposed casino could hurt their businesses in Southern New Mexico.
The Mescalero officials added that the casino is proposed within ancestral homelands of Mescalero Apache Tribe people.
In response, the Jemez Pueblo Gov. Joshua Madalena said there are many other business settled in the Mescaleros' ancestral lands.
"We don't understand why they are singling out the Pueblo of Jemez," Madalena said in his statement.
Madalena said the three groups should establish a working relationship that will benefit all three parties.
Aileen B. Flores may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;546-6362.
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