In Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the federally recognized United Keetoowah Band (UKB) of Cherokee Indians is cleaning up property near its former, long-closed casino.
A sign near the old casino property in Cherokee County illustrates a casino and reads, “New Project Coming Soon,” sponsored by the UKB Corporate Board. The tribe is getting the land ready in case a federal appeals court overturns a March 2020 ruling that the Department of Interior could not take the 2.03-acre tract into trust for tribal gaming.
As background, in 2012 an assistant secretary at the Department of Interior determined the land could be taken into trust since it is within the tribe’s former reservation. The Cherokee Nation filed a lawsuit to prevent that and in his ruling, Judge Gregory Frizzell wrote that “no reservation has ever been established by treaty, executive order or secretarial order for the UKB tribe.” The UKB tribe subsequently filed an appeal.
UKB Chief Joe Bunch said, “Since our home is in Tahlequah, we still have aspirations for a gaming facility in Tahlequah. Right now, it’s all pending the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. We’re still fighting for our right to gaming. We’re getting the site ready for either a new casino or whatever may be.”
Bunch said any attempts to stop the tribe from operating a gaming venue is an infringement of its rights as a sovereign nation. “We have certain rights as well. We are a successor in interest to the historic Cherokee Nation, and we believe we have equal powers and authority. It’s unfortunate that people can’t see that, that there are two federally recognized tribes in town.”
But that’s not necessarily so, said Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill. “Cherokee Nation exercises jurisdiction over its entire 14-county reservation. This authority stems from, among other things, our historic treaty relationship with the United States since the founding of this country. Claims by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma to be the successor in interest to the historic Cherokee Nation have no basis in fact and have been rejected by the federal courts. Cherokee Nation’s authority across its entire reservation includes the regulation of and operation of tribal gaming. No other tribe exercises such authority within our reservation.”
Bunch said the UKB tribe would have to apply for another gaming license with the National Indian Gaming Commission if it plans to open a casino in Tahlequah.
The UKB was one of the tribes whose compact with Governor Kevin Stitt was invalidated by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in January. The justices ruled the governor exceeded his authority by negotiating the compact. Bunch said based on that compact the tribe planned to open a casino in Logan County. “We weren’t necessarily named in the lawsuit against the governor. In the same token, the federal authorities approved our compact. That’s a positive sign for us. Again, we’re fighting for every opportunity we can get,” he said.
