The Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photo by aggiemom20002000 / Trip Advisor
The Osage Nation of Oklahoma might be expanding its casino enterprise. The Osage Nation Congress last month passed a resolution directing the tribe to file land-into-trust applications for two sites. One covers 125.48 acres across from the Bartlesville Municipal Airport in Bartlesville and the other is a 63.1-acre parcel in Pawhuska, The Pawhuska Journal-Capital reported. Although tribal officials would not confirm to the paper whether the properties will be used for new casinos, Resolution Number ONCR 16-10 states that they will be used for "gaming" purposes. Additionally, the Congress directed the tribe to seek trust status for three other properties. One is adjacent to the Osage Casino in Tulsa and the other lies next to the casino in Skiatook, the paper reported. Resolution Number ONCR 16-07 states that these properties will not be used for gaming. In the past, the tribe had not worried about the trust status of its casinos. In 2005, the National Indian Gaming Commission issued an Indian lands opinion that said all lands -- whether in fee or trust status -- within the former Osage Reservation can be used for gaming. But in 2010 the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the reservation had been diminished by an act of Congress and the tribe ended up submitting land-into-trust applications for three casino sites that were located on fee lands. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved all three applications in July 2011. The tribe operates seven gaming facilities in northeastern Oklahoma. Get the Story:
Tribe seeks status for 5 tracts (The Pawhuska Journal-Capital 2/17) 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision:
Osage Nation v. Irby (March 5, 2010) Federal Register Notices:
Land Acquisitions; Osage Nation of Oklahoma (July 19, 2011)
Land Acquisitions; Osage Nation of Oklahoma (July 19, 2011)
Land Acquisitions; Osage Nation of Oklahoma (July 19, 2011)
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