Following a 25-year effort, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn recently announced he has approved 21 acres in Kay County, Oklahoma to be taken into federal trust for gaming use by the Kaw Nation, which will operate a small casino there in conjunction with a travel plaza the tribe already owns on I-35. Kaw Nation Chair Guy Monroe said the decision “has been the result of a long and arduous collaborative process between the citizens of Braman and Kay counties, the state of Oklahoma and Kaw Nation. We anticipate that the Kaw Nation’s Braman Casino project will provide a solid economic boost to Kay County and the Kaw Nation which will result in long-term economic expansion in northern Kay County.”
Noted Washburn, “The Kaw Nation has strong ties to the region. The Nation seeks to restore a tribal land base in a region it has historically inhabited.”
On May 17, 2013, Washburn issued a positive Secretarial Determination in compliance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which indicated that a gaming facility on site would be in the best interests of tribal members and the surrounding community. Six days later Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin concurred approval, with Braman and Kay County officials supporting the proposal.
Federally reorganized in 1959, the 3,000-member Kaw Nation is headquartered in Kaw City and operates the Kaw Nation SouthWind Casino near Newkirk, Oklahoma, as well as an experimental pecan tree farm and tobacco stores in Newkirk and Ponca City.
