Litigation | Opinion

John Berrey: Governor in Kansas turns back on Quapaw Tribe

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Quapaw Tribe Chairman John Berrey speaks at a news conference on March 18, 2015. Photo by Tim Spears / Twitter

John Berrey, the chairman of the Quapaw Tribe, bashes Gov. Sam Brownback (R) for fighting plans to expand the Downstream Casino Resort into Kansas:

Whatever happened to the good Sen. Sam Brownback, defender of Native American rights, champion of federal-tribal reconciliation, formal state apologist for past atrocities against the Indians? I sure miss him.
Here’s what he said in 2009 on the Senate floor in presenting his commendable Native American Apology Resolution:
“I am very pleased to report that with the addition of this language in the defense appropriations conference report, we – the United States of America – will officially apologize for the past ill-conceived policies and maltreatment by the United States toward the native peoples of this land.
“With the passage of this language, we, as a nation, will reaffirm our commitment toward healing our nation’s wounds rooted in a difficult past of federal-tribal relations and work toward establishing better relationships rooted in reconciliation and forgiveness.”
Now, Brownback is suing me; my people, the Quapaw Tribe; the National Indian Gaming Commission (U.S. Department of Interior); and everyone else he can think of in a mean-spirited attempt to deny my tribe’s established right to expand our exemplary Downstream Casino Resort across the Oklahoma-Kansas line onto our Kansas federal-trust land.

Get the Story:
John Berrey: Brownback turned on tribe (The Wichita Eagle 5/19)

Also Today:
Pulaski Co. judge wants Quapaw Tribe's request for land status rejected (KATV 5/18)

Relevant Documents:
NIGC Indian Land Opinion For Site in Kansas (November 2014)