The U.S. Department of the Interior issued an opinion in January stating the United Keetoowah Band (UKB) is an equal successor to the Cherokee Nation’s reservation and granting the tribe the right to build a casino.
The original casino, located in Tahlequah, was shut down in 2013 after the Cherokee Nation sued, claiming the UKB had no legal standing on the land.
Since the memorandum, the National Indian Gaming Commission has approved the UKB’s newly written gaming ordinance, marking a significant step forward in generating gaming revenue for the tribe.
Gaming ordinances are a set of laws and rules tribes create and adhere to, regarding casinos, employees and payouts. For a tribe to move forward with legal gaming, the NIGC must approve its ordinance.
“Our gaming ordinance being approved by the NIGC is a major first step in getting that accomplished,” attorney and UKB delegate to Congress Victoria Holland said. There are still several things that we’re going to have to do to get a casino operational, but this is a big step for us, and we’re hopeful to get those opportunities so that we can provide more services for our members.
There are still hurdles to overcome, such as the approval of the UKB’s fee-to-trust application, which is a slow process.
“We can’t really do anything until that land into trust application is approved for gaming on that site, and we’re at the mercy of BIA on that timeline,” UKB Attorney General Klint Cowan. “They recently sent us some feedback on our environmental assessment of the land, so we know they’re working on it.”
According to Holland, the approval further cements the tribe’s sovereignty.
“It’s exciting, because they didn’t let it just sit there, and they didn’t deny it,” she said. “They actively approved it. So that’s a big step for us, because it’s not them just sitting on it and staying out of it, it’s them taking active steps in our direction.”
The current plan is to rebuild the casino at its original location.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
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