By declining to act, the U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a lower court ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that paves the way for the Quapaw Tribe to build a casino in Kansas. In Kansas v. National Indian Gaming Commission, the court upheld a 2014 decision by the National Indian Gaming Commission that restored tribal lands could be used to expand the tribe’s Downstream Casino Resort.
The casino was held up due to opposition by the state of Kansas. Even with the resolution of the court case, the tribe must still negotiate a Class III tribal state gaming compact. The Downstream Casino currently only offers Class II gaming on the Kansas portion of the Downstream, which is located in the midst of the border between the two states. It offers Class III gaming on the Oklahoma portion.
The tribe put the Kansas portion of its land into trust in 2012. Normally lands acquired by tribes after 1988 can’t be used for casinos, but there are exceptions. One of them is that the tribe was forced off its original homeland. The “last recognized reservation” of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (NIGA) allows exceptions for such instances. In fact, the Quapaws are the only tribe so far to have qualified using that exception.
Kansas challenged that exception. And now must accept it.
Tribal Chairman John Berrey told Indianz.Com “We are very satisfied with all the courts’ decisions related to this case and we are hoping in the future that the state of Kansas will elect a Governor who builds bridges with Tribal Nations instead of burning them.”
The governor Berrey is displeased with is Sam Brownback, who never pursued negotiations with any enthusiasm. He is nearing the end of his two-year term and is limited from seeking a third. There will be an election for governor next November.
