In a February 18 filing related to their federal lawsuit against Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations claimed the intervention of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town is “invalid,” since the two tribes do not operate Class III gaming in the state.
The three gaming tribes filed suit in federal court on December 31 asking for a ruling on whether their 15-year gaming compacts with the state expired January 1 or automatically renewed. Stitt wants to renegotiate the compacts, seeking higher exclusivity fees from the tribes. He said the state’s 30-plus casino-owning tribes have been illegally operating Class III games since the beginning of the year.
Since the original lawsuit was filed, more than a dozen tribes have intervened in support. The UKB operated a Class II electronic bingo hall in Tahlequah until 2013, which a lawsuit filed by the Cherokee Nation forced it to close. The Kialegee’s hopes for a casino have been stalled by local opposition.
According to their motion to intervene, both tribes, which are federally recognized, said their intervention is necessary because they have “a significant interest in the outcome of this case” which could “impact their sovereign rights under federal law.”
They also claim confidentiality in upcoming court-ordered mediation will “prevent the tribes from ascertaining how their rights are being defended.”
Late last year, the UKB and the Kialegee were the only tribes that signed a controversial compact extension agreement with Stitt. It would have allowed tribes to continue offering Class III gaming past January 1—even though the two tribes do not offer Class III games.
At the time, UKB Chief Joe Bunch said signing the extension was “an effort to avoid a battle with the state over the legality of gaming, as we look forward to establishing economic development opportunities in the coming year.”
But the plaintiffs said the two tribes’ rights “are not currently being violated by the governor” nor do they request any specific relief against the state. In fact, they noted Stitt commended the “honesty and boldness” of the two tribes for recognizing the contested expiration date, which would “enable the parties to negotiate a compact that better accounts for the differing needs of tribes throughout the state and the state’s interests in preserving the substantial exclusivity without a cloud of legal uncertainty.”
On a related note, High Country News and the New York Times recently reported federal documents reveal Stitt, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has only one documented tie to Cherokee ancestry—Francis Dawson—who was accused of bribing Cherokee officials to gain tribal citizenship and access to hundreds of acres of free land. In a statement, Stitt called the story “unsubstantiated slander.”
