Glendale is moving on two fronts to oppose a proposed Tohono O’odham reservation near the city’s sports and entertainment district.
The city attorney has sent a letter to Washington, D.C., outlining Glendale’s concerns over the Tohono O’odham Nation’s application to the U.S. Department of Interior to turn 134 acres at 91st and Northern avenues into trust as a reservation.
And the City Council was expected to vote Tuesday night on a resolution against the tribe’s plan for the state’s largest casino and resort.
Tribal leaders maintain the land should become a reservation as outlined in a settlement made with the federal government after nearly 10,000 acres of tribal land was damaged by a dam project decades ago.
City Attorney Craig Tindall sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar arguing against a process that would mandatorily turn the land into a reservation.
Tindall’s main argument revolves around the definition of “unincorporated.” The federal settlement says the tribe should find replacement land in an unincorporated area.
The plot the tribe purchased is in an unincorporated county island within Glendale. Tindall maintains the settlement did not intend for the tribe to acquire land surrounded by a city.