It only took seven years but a federal judge finally issued a decision on Thursday in a lawsuit that challenged the legality of the casino owned by the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma. The Downstream Casino Resort is unique in many ways. The gaming portion is located on recently acquired trust land in Oklahoma while the other portions are in Missouri and Kansas. Prior to the opening of the casino in 2008, commissioners in Cherokee County, Kansas, filed suit over the Oklahoma portion. Officials claimed that the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Interior Department failed to determine whether the land qualified for gaming. Judge Rudolph Contreras, of the federal court in Washington, D.C., rejected that argument. The tribe's gaming ordinance, which was approved by the NIGC, was not site specific so he said nothing in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act placed a duty on the agency to look at the status of the land. DOI wasn't required to make a determination either, Contreras concluded. The Oklahoma portion is located on a fractionated allotment that was acquired under the Indian Land Consolidation Act before it was placed in trust for the tribe. "IGRA did not require either the Secretary or the NIGC to determine the gaming eligibility of the Meh-No-Bah allotment; it simply authorized them to do so," Contreras wrote. On a second issue, Contreras said the county lacked standing to challenge the land consolidation process, which occurred without an environmental review. He acknowledged uncertainty in how DOI acquired the fractionated interests but said the county hadn't shown how any of its injuries could be remedied in court. District Court Decision:
Cherokee County v. Jewell (July 25, 2013)
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