The 107-acre site, about 400 miles from tribal headquarters, was chosen due to restrictions placed on land acquisitions in the northeastern part of the state. The tribe also ran into opposition to prior proposals elsewhere. The tribe pursued Golden Mesa under two-part determination provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The process requires approval from both the federal government as well as the state in which the casino will be located. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the environmental assessment for the casino toward the end of the Obama administration. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) gave her blessing shortly afterward. The Trump administration, however, held up the final portion -- the land-into-trust application for the gaming site -- for a year for unexplained reasons. Secretary Ryan Zinke of the Department of the Interior finally announced approval at a ceremony in Oklahoma City on January 18. The casino is being developed in partnership with Global Gaming Solutions, a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation. Forthcoming Federal Register Notice:
Indian Gaming; Approval of a Tribal-State Class III Gaming Compact in the State of Oklahoma (To Be Published June 7, 2018) Relevant Documents:
Shawnee Tribe Land-Into-Trust (151) Decision Letter [Trump Administration] (January 19, 2018)
Shawnee Tribe Decision Letter and Two-Part Determination [Obama Administration] (January 19, 2017)
DOI on Flickr: Shawnee Tribe Fee-To-Trust Signing
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