NIGC chair issues letter on Kialegee Tribal Tribe's gaming site

Friday, January 20, 2012

Tracie Stevens, the chairwoman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, says her agency continues to review the legality of the Kialegee Tribal Town casino in Oklahoma.

In a letter to Rep. John Sullivan (R-Oklahoma), she said the site where the tribe has started building the Red Clay Casino has not been determined to be "Indian lands" as required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. However, she said the NIGC could seek to close the facility if the tribe opens it before the determination has been made.

“The NIGC remains committed to ensuring that all Indian gaming occurs on Indian lands eligible for gaming under IGRA,’’ Stevens said in the letter, The Tulsa World reports.

The land is a restricted allotment owned by two members of the Muscogee Nation. The owners are leasing it to the Kialegee Tribal Town for the proposed casino.

According to IGRA, "Indian lands" means:

(A) all lands within the limits of any Indian reservation; and
(B) any lands title to which is either held in trust by the United States for the benefit of any Indian tribe or individual or held by any Indian tribe or individual subject to restriction by the United States against alienation and over which an Indian tribe exercises governmental power.

Get the Story:
Official: Broken Arrow property not currently eligible for Indian gaming (The Tulsa World 1/20)