The Ponca Tribe will open its Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, Iowa, on November 1, 2018. Photo: Prairie Flower Casino

Litigation | Openings & Closings

Ponca Tribe sets November 1 opening for long-awaited casino

Monday, October 29, 2018

The Ponca Tribe is opening its long-awaited gaming facility in Iowa on Thursday, November 1.

The Prairie Flower Casino is located in Carter Lake, Iowa. The 9,500-square-foot features 200 Class II electronic machines and a snack bar and will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week

The facility is named in memory of Prairie Flower, who was a daughter of famed Chief Standing Bear. She died on the Ponca Trail of Tears in 1877, when the federal government forced the tribe out of Nebraska.

We continue to make progress as we move closer to opening. The parking lot is starting to take shape today! #PrairieFlowerCasino #PlayLongerWinMore pic.twitter.com/SgY6umuEye
— Prairie Flower Casino (@PFlowerCasino) October 22, 2018

Standing Bear and his band were allowed to stay in Nebraska after he won a landmark court ruling on behalf of all Native Americans. But less a century later, the federal government terminated its relationship with his descendants and dissolved their lands.

The tribe was eventually restored to recognition in 1990 and is able to acquire lands in Nebraska and Iowa to rebuild its home base. The site in Carter Lake is part of that restoration effort.

Despite the expected opening, the states of Iowa and Nebraska, along with the city of Council Bluffs in Iowa, are suing the federal government in hopes of derailing the casino. They claim the tribe does not qualify to have its lands restored under the provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The Trump administration filed an answer to the complaint on April 27, rejecting the claims made in the original complaint, which was filed solely city of Council Bluffs. The two states were allowed to intervened later on.

There has been no significant movement in the case as the opening date has approached. The federal magistrate assigned to the matter even rejected an attempt by Nebraska to expedite some motions, saying there was no reason to do so. Briefing otherwise doesn't close until December 7 -- long after the casino will be operation.

The tribe is not a party to the litigation but has filed an amicus, or friend of the court, brief. The tribe is calling on the judge to reject the opponents' claims.

"The Ponca Tribe has deep historic ties to land in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, where it lived peaceably until the tribe’s forcible removal by the federal government in 1877," the brief states.