Legal Issues
The State of Oklahoma sued the UKB in federal court for operating illegal gaming facilities off Bureau of Indian Affairs-approved tribal trust lands. According to briefs submitted by the Cherokee Nation, the UKB own no tribal lands in federal trust. The lawsuit is currently pending in the federal courts in Oklahoma and has been recently remanded to the National Indian Gaming Commission for review.
During the State of Oklahoma lawsuit pertaining to the UKB's alleged illegal casino operations, an Indian casino that has been operating for approximately 19 years, the UKB was accused of attempting to sue the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Nation said the UKB had sued to demand cession of tribal land allotments to them in order to build casinos. These lawsuits were also dismissed.
The UKB has sued the United States for a share of the proceeds under HR-3534, a bill that required the United States to compensate the Cherokee Nation and two other Oklahoma tribes with claims to the disclaimed drybed lands of the Arkansas River. The legislation set aside ten percent of each tribe's share of the settlement for other claimant tribes; it afforded other claimant tribes an opportunity to file claims within 180 days of the legislation. The UKB filed suit against the United States. The Cherokee Nation moved to intervene and to dismiss the UKB suit. It contended that the Cherokee Nation is an indispensable party and that it cannot be joined in the litigation because of its sovereign immunity. The Court of Claims granted both of the Cherokee Nation's motions. On April 14, 2006, on appeal, the United States sided with the UKB against the Cherokee Nation's request for dismissal. The Court of Federal Claims heard the appeal on November 8, 2006.
In June 2004, the UKB requested that the BIA take into trust land which it owned on a fee basis, a 76-acre Community Services Parcel. The case has been studied and the request was originally denied, but the UKB appealed. In May 2011, the BIA finally announced its decision to take into trust for the UKB 76 acres of land in Tahlequah, which include several of its community centers and the sacred dance ground. The tribe will no longer be landless.
Read more about this topic: United Keetoowah Band Of Cherokee Indians
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