Commissioners in Cherokee County, Kansas, filed suit against the Interior Department in hopes of stopping the Quapaw Tribe from building a casino.
The $300 million Downstream Casino Resort is located on three parcels of land in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. The gaming portion is on the Oklahoma side.
The county says the casino site was not properly taken into trust. The lawsuit says the tribe didn't perform any environmental reviews or follow the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act [Complaint | Motion for Preliminary Injunction]
At issue is a 40-acre Quapaw allotment that the tribe acquired under the Indian Land Consolidation Act.
All but 5/6ths of the parcel was taken into trust for the tribe post 1988.
Get the Story:Cherokee County files lawsuit against federal agency (The Joplin Globe 2/27)
County commissioners ask judge to stop casino construction (KOAM-TV 2/26)