This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Tuesday, October 9, 2018. I'm Keele Brown.

The struggles of Native American tribes have never truly ended.

Today the federal government owns lands on which

tribes reside and the restrictions on the uses of those lands continue to put up hurdles to

development. Adam Kripel is a visiting professor at Southern University Law Center.

We spoke last month.

We understand rights, property rights to be things that are, you know, not just one right right but several rights that we can combine and use

some of and not use others with respect to the rights of Native American tribes what property rights do they not have really with respect to their property?

Well, trust land, the federal government owns it.

So the federal government owns title to the land whereas the tribe holds beneficial use.

So that means if you want to do something on trust land, you have to get approval from the federal government.

So, for example, if you want to drill for oil on Indian land

or do some other projects in most jurisdictions it takes about four steps before you

can get approval. In Indian country it takes about 49 steps so there's immense

levels of bureaucracy. Building off of that if you want to get a mortgage on your

trust land you have to get the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, which obviously is pretty difficult to do.

So it makes just basic things so much more complicated.

Okay, so when we think of the various Native American tribes that have decided to put

up casinos, what leads into that decision?

It's the same obstacles you would face perhaps even more, but with casinos you're going to be making a lot of

money theoretically so it makes going going through all those hoops worth it whereas you're

opening up say a little mom-and-pop gas station or you know grocery store it's probably not worth the time and

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