American Indian tribes and preservationists trying to buy Valmont Butte from
the city of Boulder say they have absolutely no intention to turn it into a
gambling site.
Boulder City Attorney Ariel Calonne said he can’t rule out the possibility
that tribes could assert sovereignty and override any deed restrictions
placed upon the property. But, he said, the tribes wouldn’t have an easy
path toward asserting sovereignty over the land, which would require it to
be placed in trust by the federal secretary of the interior. The key
question is whether tribes have any desire to look at gambling, said Steve
Moore, who’s serving on the Valmont Butte Heritage Alliance board as a
member of the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs. And the answer to that
question is an emphatic “no,” he said.