Indian Gaming > Prairie Band Potawatomi land buy stirs interest

May 09, 2006

Prairie Band Potawatomi land buy stirs interest

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas is stirring interest with the purchase of 128 acres in Illinois.

The tribe paid nearly $9 million, far above the market rate, for the land in Shabbona. Plans for the purchase are being announced today at a press conference.

Shabbona is the place where Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay lived. In 1829, he signed a treaty with the federal government that set aside a 1,280-acre reserve. A former Interior Department legal official said the tribe's claim to the land is credible.

The tribe previously said it doesn't have to go through the land-into-trust process for treaty land. But the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 ruled that wasn't the case even for historic reservations.

Shabbona is about 70 miles west of Chicago [Google Map].

Get the Story:
Kansas tribe might eye new casino in Illinois (The Chicago Tribune 5/9)
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