Officials in DeKalb County, Illinois, ordered the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas to stop work on a 128-acre farm the tribe purchased.

Chairwoman Tracy Stanhoff said the tribe was building a local government center at the site. But county officials said the tribe began construction without permission.

The farm is located within a 1,280-acre reservation that was set aside for Potawatomi chief. The tribe says the reservation has never been extinguished but the county claims jurisdiction.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the tribe planned to hold a hearing to discuss zoning the site under its tribal laws. The hearing has been postponed indefinitely, the paper said.

Get the Story:
Tribe denies having plan to build a bingo parlor (The Chicago Tribune 8/11)
pwday
Betting on a Casino for Shabbona? (The Commercial Property News 8/11)

Excepts of Interior Department Letter:
Leshy to Hastert (January 18, 2001)

Treaty Termination Bill:
To provide for the equitable settlement of certain Indian land disputes regarding land in Illinois (H.R.791)

Related Documents:
Congressional Hearing Testimony | 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien | Background on 1829 Treaty

Relevant Links:
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation - http://www.pbpindiantribe.com

Related Stories:
Kansas tribe buys ancestral land in Illinois (05/10)
Prairie Band Potawatomi land buy stirs interest (5/9)
Kansas tribe drops option on out-of-state land (06/03)
Tribes take chances with far-away land acquisitions (04/01)
House leader says tribe doesn't have land claim in Ill. (03/22)
Kansas tribe buys land in ancestral reservation (02/20)
Clinton memo cited 'credible' land claim (05/13)
'An affront to tribal sovereignty' (5/9)
Tribal bill enjoys top GOP support (5/7)