A robe from the 18th century depicts Quapaw villages in Arkansas, where the tribe lived before being forced to leave. Photo from Shonagon / Wikipedia
It looks like the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma won't be entering into a land use agreement with the Port of Little Rock in Arkansas soon. The tribe was negotiating a memorandum of understanding to address its 160-acre land-into-trust site. But the port's board won't move forward until a final decision is made on the application, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. The Bureau of Indian Affairs closed the public comment period on the application. Since there is no timeline for a decision the tribe could wait years before reaching an agreement with the port. The agreement was seen as one way to assure that the tribe isn't planning to build a casino at the site, which is located within its ancestral reservation. Chairman John Berrey also has vowed to sign a no-gaming pledge but local officials haven't taken him up on the offer. The tribe owns 160 acres near the port, the Clinton Presidential Center and the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. Get the Story:
Port Authority board blocks deal with tribe (The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 1/21) Relevant Documents:
NIGC Indian Land Opinion For Site in Kansas (November 2014)
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