An American Indian tribe that is seeking to build a casino in upstate New York is suing the New York Post for $60 million because of two editorials the newspaper published that accused the tribe of being a “criminal enterprise” with “an extended history of often-violent criminality.”

In a February 21, 2007, editorial, “The Gov’s Gambling Goof,” the Post chronicled the efforts of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council to build a casino on the site of the former Monticello Raceway in the Catskills. The Post editorial accused the council of being involved in a $687 million contraband smuggling ring, importing illegal immigrants from China, and engaging in shoot-outs with the New York State Police.

The council is suing the Post for two counts of libel.

Also included in the lawsuit is a January 8 editorial, “A Bad Bet on the Mohawks,” that criticizes Governor Spitzer for supporting the council’s bid to build the Catskills casino and repeats the previous editorial’s allegations of criminality.

The Post’s series of accusations against the council “tends to injure them in their profession, and tends to expose them to public contempt, ridicule, aversion, and disgrace,” the lawsuit, which was filed yesterday in New York State Court in Manhattan, says.

A spokeswoman for the Post, Suzanne Halpin, declined to comment.