Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming in Broken Arrow
TULSA, Okla. — The National Indian Gaming Commission has ruled that the site for a proposed Native American casino in Broken Arrow isn't eligible for gambling.
In a letter to the Kialegee Tribal Town dated Friday, commission chairwoman Tracie Stevens wrote that while the property is on American Indian land, the Muscogee Creek Nation, not the Kialegee Tribal Town, has legal jurisdiction over it.
The Office of the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior agreed with the opinion, the Tulsa World (http://bit.ly/Kb7zNv) reported in Saturday's editions.
On May 18, U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell granted a temporary injunction against the Kialegee Tribal Town and its casino developers on grounds that the Wetumka-based tribe doesn't have jurisdiction over the 20-acre parcel of land.
Town King Tiger Hobia and attorneys have said the tribe doesn't need permission from the commission or others to build a casino on the property, which was being leased to the developer by Creek Nation members and property owners Wynema Capps and Marcella Giles.
Besides the jurisdiction issue, Stevens also wrote that the commission had told the tribe repeatedly they were still reviewing whether the site was eligible for gaming.
Stevens wrote that if gaming occurs on the site, "I will exercise my enforcement authority to issue a notice of violation and temporary closure order."
Attorney Dennis Whittlesey, who represents the tribe, didn't return an email seeking comment on Saturday.
Lawyers have said the tribe plans to appeal Frizzell's decision to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Some residents of the Tulsa suburb have opposed the casino because of its proximity to schools and a daycare. Broken Arrow Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming gathered more than 10,000 signatures on a petition that was presented to federal agencies.
"If we hadn't spoke up, nobody would have said a word," the group's spokesman, Jared Cawley, said. "I would like to think that the NIGC would have done their job, but it didn't look like it to me. I think it shows and gives hope to communities that you don't have to just sit back and let things happen around you."
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/d5828b1793ad4f328d4cfc93c05bf4ad/OK--Indian-Casino-Flap/
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