The "land into trust" concept for approving tribal acquisition of off-reservation acreage for various purposes – including gaming – has proven to be so unnerving and time-consuming that it is clearly difficult for non-tribal members to appreciate.

One issue clearly revolves around the time horizons, which require extraordinary patience. Another revolves around the concept of "trust," which has various meanings.

As for patience, consider the Cowlitz, a landless tribe in Washington state that has been trying to redress grievances that can trace their origins back to the Lincoln administration (yes, Abraham was the first name) that opened their area up to settlers.

As for trust, consider some of the reactions to a June 18 memo from US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that was designed to explain the process and ensure transparency and a timely processing of claims.

Salazar’s memo spells out the "two part" determination rule established by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, including "(1) a determination by the Secretary that the gaming establishment is in the best interest of the tribe and would not be detrimental to the surrounding community; and (2) the concurrence of the state's Governor. The review of these applications is appropriately lengthy and deliberate. Given the complicated issues that applications of this nature raise, and the various levels of review and approval involved, they have been approved rarely despite a number of submissions over the years."

Salazar is clearly being candid, noting that only five such applications have been approved in the 20 years since IGRA’s adoption.

Still, when you put memos and rules aside, the real issues are quite human. Some tribal members have complained that the second part of that two-part determination can often be guided by political concerns that have their roots in blatant prejudice.

Another issue is purely political. Some are urging the BIA to accelerate the process to ensure that approvals are made before the Obama administration leaves office. BIA clearly has no intention of complying, nor does it necessarily share the view that the Obama era ends in 2012.

Such fears and concerns demonstrate that tribal members are often asked to be patient when decisions may effectively extend from one generation to another, with subtle undercurrents that have nothing to do with the merits (or lack thereof) of an application.

Tribal operators are often looked on with envy by their commercial counterparts because of tax advantages and the ability to ignore rules regarding smoking. When you look at the time-consuming process, however, such envy is clearly misplaced.

As Salazar notes: "Of the 564 federally recognized tribes, less than half, or 238 tribes, operate gaming facilities. Two hundred thirty-two of these tribes operate Class III, or "casino-style," gaming facilities under tribal-state compacts. Most tribal gaming operations are quite small and are located in rural areas."

And that does not even mention the unspoken challenges of prejudice and politics. Members of the Lincoln administration were not available for comment.