Casinos owned by the Poarch Creek Band of Indians are on trust land, the Bureau of Indian Affairs confirmed in a short letter.

The tribe gained federal recognition in 1984. Its reservation was proclaimed the following year, the BIA said.

“The band’s reservation, including the portion of the reservation that is situated within the geographical boundary of Escambia County, Alabama, is held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the band," acting assistant secretary Del Laverdure wrote in the letter, according to news reports. "As such, the band enjoys all rights and privileges associated with having its reservation held in trust by the United States under federal law.”

Laverdure did not address the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The ruling bars tribes that weren't "under federal jurisdiction" as of 1934 from following the land-into-trust process.

County officials claim the decision means the tribe's casinos aren't on trust land. They say the tribe owes upwards of $12 million a year in unpaid taxes.

Get the Story:
Alabama Indian casinos are on federal land, Interior Department says (The Mobile Press-Register 6/7)
Tribe claims win in dispute (The Montgomery Advertiser 6/7)
Feds Dismiss County Claims About Poarch Creek Land, Casinos (NorthEscambia.Com 6/7)
Alabama Indian casinos are on federal land, Interior Department says (WWNT 6/7)
Interior confirms Poarch Creek lands are protected by Federal law (The Atmore News 6/6)
U.S. Interior confirms PCI land protected (The Atmore Advance 6/6)

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County officials pushing for taxes from Poarch Creek casinos (5/16)