A federal appeals court has turned away the
Comanche Nation in its efforts to derail a rival tribe's casino in Oklahoma.
The tribe contends the
Bureau of Indian Affairs should not have placed land in trust for the new
Chickasaw Nation facility. But the
10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday said the Comanches failed to make a case.
"We take the view of the district court that Comanche Nation is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to a decision by the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the benefit of Chickasaw Nation and approve the land for gaming," Judge Carlos F. Lucero wrote for the court in the
13-page ruling.
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Maps: Chickasaw Nation Gaming
Facilities
The Chickasaw Nation opened the
RiverStar Casino on March 1. It's located in Terral, just a few miles from the Texas border, a major gaming market.
The BIA approved the land-into-trust application for the casino on the last full day of the Obama administration in January 2017. Indianz.Com published the
deed from the acquisition around that time.
But the Trump administration held up the
official notice of the acquisition until July 2017.
That didn't stop the Chickasaws from breaking ground, however.
The Comanche Nation operates the
Red River Hotel and Casino about 45 miles from the Chickasaw site. The tribe also has land about
10 miles from Terral where it has hoped to open a casino.
According to the Comanches, revenues at Red River will fall 25 percent as a result of the new development.
The 10th Circuit, however, said economic concerns do not require the BIA to consult the tribe before approving the land-into-trust application.
"Comanche Nation again relies solely on socioeconomic effects of the new casino, and for the reasons stated above, that is not enough to show it was necessarily an appropriate consulting tribe in this case," the decision stated.
The tribe is considering an appeal to the
U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of addressing the situation, an attorney told Indianz.Com.
The Chickasaw Nation operates nearly
two dozens casinos, more than any other tribe in Oklahoma and more than any other tribe in the United States.
Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case,
Comanche Nation v. Zinke.
Read More on the Story
Chickasaw casino near Terral gets green light from federal appellate court
(The Oklahoman December 15, 2018)
10th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision
Comanche Nation v. Zinke
(December 14, 2018)
Federal Register Notices
Land
Acquisitions; The Chickasaw Nation [Terral Site] (July 18, 2017)
Land
Acquisitions; The Chickasaw Nation [Willis Site] (July 18, 2017)
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