TAMA, Iowa (AP) – A casino that produces $3 million a week in gambling revenues and supports the Meskwaki Indians is in danger of being closed because of a political tug-of-war playing out in state and federal courts that has divided the tribe’s 1,293 members.

A hearing is scheduled Monday in federal court.

A judge says the dispute threatens to kill the tribe’s “magic goose laying golden eggs.”

Like many Meskwaki, officially known as the Sac & Fox of the Mississippi, Jerry Young Bear has come to count on his $2,000 monthly royalty check from the proceeds of the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel.

It helps him make ends meet, raise his two daughters and develop his fledgling horse farm.

“I’m neutral in this whole thing … but I do have reasons to be worried about what’s going on,” Young Bear, 36, said last week. “I’m trying to do something to better myself with this money. A lot of people I know are.

“But this is a case where people have been given a lot of money and are getting selfish and distrusting all of a sudden.”

Trouble began last fall when some tribal members grew suspicious of the council elected in 1999, and filed recall petitions. They alleged the council was meeting in secret, would not allow members access to financial records, and that money was used for unauthorized purposes.

There has been no documented evidence to back up the allegations, and Chairman Alex Walker Jr. denies the claims. The tribe’s next council election is set for this fall.

Walker also rejected the recall petitions, claiming some of the signatures were forged or coerced even though the tribal lawyer had validated them.

The petitioners could have appealed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Instead, they turned to hereditary Chief Old Bear, a common remedy before the tribe adopted a constitution in 1937.

Old Bear named Homer Bear Jr., no relation, to be the new chairman and appointed six other council members. They and about 60 supporters seized control of tribal offices March 26, changed the locks and assumed control of the tribe’s day-to-day business.

Last month, the Bureau of Indian Affairs said the elected council led by Walker is the tribe’s recognized governing body.

The National Indian Gaming Commission has ruled the casino is in violation of gaming laws as long as the appointed council remains in power.

The elected council asked a federal judge to intervene and return power to them. But U.S. District Judge Linda Reade dismissed the lawsuit, saying the federal government had no jurisdiction.

Attorneys for the appointed council countered this past week, asking a state judge to freeze $160 million in tribal assets held by Wells Fargo bank. District Judge Timothy Finn denied the request and suggested both sides take their dispute to the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Finn called the casino “a magic goose laying golden eggs.”

Both sides “have put a strangle hold around the neck of this goose, each claiming it belongs to them,” Finn wrote. “It appears to the court that the parties are only days away from killing this magic goose.”

On Monday, the National Indian Gaming Commission ordered the casino closed immediately. Commission spokesman Richard Schiff said such orders are rare, with only a handful issued since the commission started in 1993.

Tribal leaders asked a federal judge to block the commission’s order, and U.S. Attorney Charles Larson asked a judge to enforce it. A hearing is planned for Monday.

Bear and his council say they do not intend to close the casino.

“We’re doing everything we can to prevent its closure,” said Larry Lasley, the tribe’s executive director. “As far as what the future holds, we’re exploring and exercising all our legal remedies.”

About 840 Meskwaki tribal members live on the 7,000-acre settlement along the Iowa River west of Tama. With gambling revenues, the tribe has expanded its land holdings and built 300 new homes and a new medical clinic. The money also helps supports the tribal schools.

“It would be hard if there was a shutdown. People would be scrambling,” said tribal member Kirby Jacque, who sides with the elected leaders.

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On the Net:

National Indian Gaming Commission: http://www.nigc.gov/

AP-ES-05-17-03 1349EDT

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