The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has appealed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s ruling allowing the Catawba Indian Nation of South Carolina to build a casino in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. In addition to the Catawba tribe, the Eastern Band also named the U.S. Department of the Interior as a defendant in their notice of appeal.
The Eastern Band claimed, in part, they had historical ties to the Kings Mountain land and that the Interior Department violated U.S. law by taking the land into trust for the Catawbas. Boasberg disagreed, stating, “In the end, though, they come up with snake eyes, as on each claim they either lack standing or lose on the merits.”
In a statement, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Richard Sneed said Boasberg noted the case was extremely complex and his ruling was “a close call.” Sneed stated the tribe still believes the Interior Department “violated law in authorizing the Catawba casino, and our appeal is simply the next step in the process to ensure that justice is done.”
The Eastern Band filed its original lawsuit in March 2020, after the Interior Department approved taking into trust the Catawbas’ Kings Mountain land, about 30 miles west of Charlotte. The Catawbas are building a temporary gaming facility there, and plan to complete their $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort by this fall. In April, a federal judge found no basis for the Eastern Band’s claims.
Governor Roy Cooper and the Catawba Indian Nation signed a revenue-sharing agreement in January.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians owns two Harrah’s Cherokee casinos in Western North Carolina.
