Litigation | Openings & Closings

United Keetoowah Band and Cherokee Nation in casino talks

Friday, August 30, 2013

The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Nation remain in talks to keep the UKB casino in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, up and running.

The Keetoowah Cherokee Casino is due to close at midnight tonight because the land isn't in trust. But UKB leaders are negotiating a deal in which the 2.03-acre site would be placed in trust for the Cherokees and then leased back to the UKB for 99 years.

Meanwhile, the Cherokees have offered employment to the displaced UKB workers. About 150 employees will be out of work then the casino closes.

“Employees of the Keetoowah Cherokee Casino are innocent bystanders in this two decades long legal battle,” Cherokee Chief Bill John Baker said in a press release. “While we may be different Cherokee tribes, we come from one fire. Welcoming our Keetoowah brothers and sisters with open arms is simply the right thing to do.”

Get the Story:
UKB council votes to compromise with CN (The Cherokee Phoenix 8/29)
Cherokee Nation to absorb displaced workers of Tahlequah's Keetowah Cherokee Casino (KJRH 8/29)
Keetoowahs, Cherokees negotiate fate of UKB casino (The Muskogee Phoenix 8/29)
Cherokee Nation offers to hire displaced UKB casino workers (The Tulsa World 8/30)

10th Circuit Decision:
Cherokee Nation v. Jewell (August 26, 2013)