Litigation | Openings & Closings

Cherokee Nation wins decision over UKB casino land-into-trust

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Monday that prevents the Bureau of Indian Affairs from placing the casino site of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians into trust.

Despite expressing skepticism at a hearing on Friday, Judge Gregory Frizzell determined that the Cherokee Nation would be harmed if the land-into-trust application was finalized. The 2.08-acre site of the UKB's Keetoowah Cherokee Casino was going to be put into trust tomorrow.

“Today’s judgment is a reinforcement of the Cherokee Nation’s inherent tribal sovereignty within our jurisdictional boundaries,," Chief Bill John Baker said in a press release. "As a government that provides critical services to Cherokee citizens, we must defend that historical sovereignty and our economic development at all costs."

The Cherokee Nation claims it is the only tribe with jurisdiction in the former Cherokee reservation. The BIA, however, previously approved a land-into-trust application for the United Keetoowah Band that said both tribes can exercise sovereignty.

The UKB now faces the possibility that its casino will be forced to close on August 30. A settlement with the state required the tribe to follow the land-into-trust process.

Get the Story:
District judge supports Cherokee Nation injunction; blocks Keetoowah bid for land in trust (The Native American Times 8/12)
Federal judge blocks land-trust move for Keetoowahs' Tahlequah casino (The Tulsa World 8/13)
Cherokee Nation granted injunction in UKB casino case (The Tahlequah Daily Press 8/13)