NIGC Chair Tracie Stevens issued a response to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK).  Earlier this month, Coburn and Sullivan had requested information about the legality of the Kialegees' construction of a casino in suburban Tulsa.

Stevens acknowledged that IGRA requires a tribe to operate Indian gaming only on "Indian lands," which has a specific legal definition, as explained in our earlier posts.

Stevens stated that the NIGC has not yet made any determination that the Broken Arrow parcel is in fact and law, "Indian lands."  The NIGC fairly routinely issues "Indian land opinion" letters, and these are readily available on the NIGC website.  Stevens also stated, however, that the NIGC currently is in the process of determining whether the land in question is Indian land.  Looks like we can expect an Indian land opinion letter on the Broken Arrow casino.

Stevens closed the letter with this statement: "The NIGC remains committed to ensuring that all Indian gaming occurs on Indian lands eligible for gaming under IGRA."  In our opinion, that statement is true -- the NIGC has consistently worked to ensure that IGRA's requirements are met, while facilitating Congress's intent that Indian gaming result in strong tribal governments and economically and socially healthy Native communities.