Northern District of Oklahoma Judge Gregory Frizzell recently received rebuttal arguments in Cherokee Nation versus the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. The Cherokee Nation and its gaming arm Cherokee Nation Entertainment have asked for a permanent injunction against the UKB’s Keetoowah Cherokee Casino in Tahlequah which has been closed for a year. The UKB has applied to have the 2.03-acre parcel of land on which its sole casino sits to be taken into federal trust, which would allow the casino to reopen.
The Cherokee Nation is required by its constitution to fight attempts from any other tribe to take land into trust within its 14-county jurisdictional area. The tribe and CNE claim they would suffer irreparable harm if the UKB casino reopens. Attorneys for the Cherokee argued in terms of sovereignty and CNE attorneys claimed being the only tribal gaming entity within the Cherokee Nation’s jurisdiction is a major reason the tribe has built eight, soon to be nine, casinos over the last 20 years.
Attorneys for the Department of the Interior once again defended their decision to grant the UKB’s application and described two other cases of shared jurisdiction within Oklahoma. Interior’s Lead Counsel Jody Schwartz wrote, “Congress has determined that the establishment of a tribal land base and economic self-sufficiency are important public interests. Here, the parcel provides the UKB’s sole source of revenue and allows it to maintain its independence and self-sufficiency. The agency action at issue serves the long-recognized policy of ‘further Indian self-government.’”
Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree said Schwartz’s argument was “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion and contrary to law.” He dismissed the idea of shared jurisdiction and said the federal government cannot approve a UKB trust application for the Tahlequah site without the larger tribe’s approval. “The placement of the tract into trust would not automatically confer the status of ‘Indian lands’ on the tract for purposes of UKB gaming operations because the UKB does not possess jurisdiction within the Cherokee Nation treaty territory or exercise governmental authority over the tract,” Hembree wrote.
Meanwhile, Cherokee Nation Businesses recently announced a partnership with commercial real estate developer the Woodmont Company to bring an $80 million, 300,000 square foot upscale outlet shopping development, Cherokee Outlets Mall, to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. The proposed development would include about 100 retailers, and create hundreds of construction jobs and more than 1,000 permanent jobs. Once completed, in late 2016, it would annually generate $120 million in sales and attract 2 million visitors in addition to the 2 million who already visit the Hard Rock each year.
CNB officials also said a unique entertainment and dining zone called the District would complement the new outlet mall and connect it directly to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker said, “When the Cherokee Nation does well, the entire region does well. These collaborative projects with private industry are what help us create more jobs, maximize our investment dollars and help us make a greater impact on the economy of our state.” Stephen Coslik, chairman of Woodmont Outlets, added, “In addition to the Tulsa metro and surrounding areas, it’s an easy drive from key markets like northwest Arkansas and Joplin, Missouri. I’m confident we can attract the premium retailers to make this development the best in the region. No other outlet and casino resort in the United States will resemble this development, which will be a real gem to the greater Tulsa market.”
The Cherokees recently announced a $170 million development project that eventually will relocate the tribe’s Tahlequah casino and create a resort hotel, convention center, retail area and a new golf course clubhouse there. The development will be on 154 acres adjacent to the Cherokee Springs Golf Course, which the tribe purchased in 2012. The project will offer 1.3 million square feet of mixed-use space and will take five years to complete.
