Jul
20
2012
Note by Kathryn: Today's
guest blog post, written by one of the students in Kathryn's Indian
Gaming Law course, is by third-year law student Julia Monyak.Oklahoma state attorneys say that the Kialegee Tribal Town is violating a court order to stop construction on a 20-acre piece of land they had originally planned to build a casino on. The tribe is now operating a fireworks stand on the land, and construction supplies continue to arrive there. The tribe's attorney says that running the fireworks stand does not violate the injunction, but the state complains that the tribe has not communicated with them about the fireworks business or the "apparent construction activity."
The land in question is in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa. The casino plan was met with opposition from many local residents and led to the creation of Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming in Broken Arrow. In May, when the casino was partway through construction, a U.S. District Judge ruled that the tribe did not have jurisdiction to operate a casino on the Broken Arrow land. He enjoined the tribe from continuing construction on the facility.
After the injunction was issued, the tribe filed a request to modify it. Now that planned casino has been ruled illegal, the tribe wishes to use the land for a sports bar and music venue.
I think this controversy highlights the difficulties tribes have in finding a casino location where the casino can be both profitable and legal. It's also interesting that the injunction was to stop all construction on the site - including, apparently, construction for completely legal purposes - rather than simply to stop the casino from opening.
Read more here.
