Park City dispute should end tribal sovereignty law

opinions

April 14, 2012 - 12:00 AM

A lawsuit has been filed in federal court by the Wyandotte Nation seeking to have land the tribe purchased in Park City, a Wichita suburb, approved as a site for a tribe-owned casino. Kansas has received the court’s permission to intervene in the case.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Waxse said “it is abundantly clear” that Kansas has an interest in the outcome since it now has taxing, regulatory and legal authority over the land where the tribe wants to build. Furthermore, the state has the power to regulate gambling within the state’s borders.

At issue, needless to say, is the doctrine of American Indian sovereignty. The Wyandottes filed suit to force the U.S. Department of the Interior to accept the Park City tract “into trust,” which would then give the tribe sovereignty over the land and allow it to build a casino on it, regardless of what the people of Park City or the government of Kansas think of the idea.

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