The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma and the Little Rock Port Authority in Arkansas recently drafted a memorandum of understanding regarding tribal-owned land located near the port. The tribe has applied to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to take the land into trust, but state and local officials have opposed that action out of concern the tribe could open a casino, although tribal leaders have stated that is not their intention. Quapaw Chairman John Berrey said, “This agreement puts four corners around what we can and cannot do around that port. We don’t want to create any controversy around the port. We want to be a good neighbor. All we’re concerned about right now is protecting the grave sites that are there.”
The land, which the tribe purchased for $1.4 million, contains the graves of Quapaw ancestors, Quapaw artifacts and the graves of slaves. The Quapaw Tribe lived in Arkansas for centuries before the U.S. government, in the 1800s, forced the Quapaws to move west.
The draft includes protections for tribal burial grounds and artifacts if any are unearthed during planned expansion of the port. It also says tribal and port officials will consult one another on matters of mutual interest and that the tribe will work with the port if it purchases future land within “areas of interest” to the port. Meanwhile Berrey said the tribe will continue to grow peas on the land and will have a more extensive archaeological study prepared.
The Little Rock Board of Directors will have to approve the draft agreement. Also, Mayor Mark Stodola wants the tribe to sell the land to the city or to agree to remain in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, which would keep the land subject to the city’s planning and zoning ordinances and commissions.
Port Authority Executive Director Bryan Day said the draft is “a work in progress. I know there’s a lot of concern in the community about a gaming facility.” The draft does not specify what will or will not be done with the property.
