Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt recently announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior had approved the gaming compacts between the state of Oklahoma and two Indian tribes, the Otoe-Missouria and the Comanche Nation. The compacts were “deemed approved” following the expiration of a 45-day review period.
Stitt praised the tribal leaders “who worked hard to secure fair terms for their citizens, and whose contributions throughout the negotiations ensured a more level playing field and modernized gaming market in Oklahoma. With these new gaming compacts, Oklahoma is ushering in a new era of prosperity, opportunity, and partnership for the state and the tribes.”
Comanche Nation Chairman William Nelson Sr. said, “We have known since we reached this agreement with the governor of Oklahoma that our compact is legal and are pleased that the U.S. Department of the Interior has agreed.” Otoe-Missouria Tribe Chairman John R. Shotton commented,
“Today’s approval of our compact with the state of Oklahoma will allow us to welcome in a new, modern era of tribal gaming to the benefit of both our people and the state of Oklahoma.” said
The new compacts authorize the tribes to offer additional forms of gambling including sports betting, and to build new casinos closer to metropolitan areas that would give the state a larger cut of revenue.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter previously issued a legal opinion claiming Stitt overstepped his authority by approving the compacts, since sports gambling remains illegal under state law, and any attempt by the two tribes to build new casinos would be strongly opposed by other tribes with existing gambling operations in those areas.
Hunter said, “I am deeply disappointed in Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s abdication of his responsibility to all of Oklahoma’s Native American sovereigns, not just two.
“The Department of the Interior’s thoughtless and irresponsible inaction on the compacts doesn’t change our conclusion that the governor lacks the authority to enter into compacts that include activities not legal in Oklahoma.”
Hunter urged the agency to reject the compacts. “The tribes cannot begin operating under the terms of these compacts until the many questions that remain pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court are resolved,” he said.
Stephen Greetham, senior counsel for the Chickasaw Nation, said, “The risk of the agreements’ illegality remains with Governor Stitt and the two signing tribes, and since several federal law defects have already been publicly documented, more litigation is likely.”
The state’s Republican legislative leaders also asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to decide if the Democratic governor overstepped his authority when he signed the new compacts.
In addition, three of the state’s most powerful tribes—the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations—sued Stitt on December 31. Several other tribes joined the lawsuit, including the Otoe-Missouria and the Comanche. Stitt claims the 15-year gambling compacts expired on January 1, and tribes argue the compacts automatically renewed on January 1.
Other tribes are also sounding off on Interior’s approval of the two tribes’ Oklahoma compacts. Quapaw Nation Chairman John L. Berrey called the action a “gut punch to tribes in Oklahoma and across the country.”
He said it “represents a new low-water mark for Indian gaming, and another page in the long history of the federal government’s disservice toward Indian people. Because Secretary Bernhardt failed to do his job, Governor Stitt and other governors will now be emboldened to make illegal demands of tribes when negotiating new gaming compacts. The result in Oklahoma will be more litigation—and more damage to the relationship between tribal governments and the state.”
Matthew L. Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, said his organization “continues to be concerned with the legal and political ramifications if these agreements go into effect.
“Approval of the compacts will introduce the type of potential instability that existing compacts were designed to avoid and exacerbate the relationship between tribal governments and Governor Stitt. While we respect the sovereignty of each tribe to take what actions it believes it must on behalf of its citizens, these agreements do not advance the tribal governmental gaming industry in Oklahoma.”
