Oklahoma's Own In Focus: Federal government opinion says UKB & Cherokee Nation share a reservation, tribes react

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said the opinion from the Department of the Interior is not a legal opinion. The Department of the Interior opinion affirming the UKB reservation is the Cherokee Nation reservation and that the tribe can take land into trust IS a legal opinion that is binding unless challenged in court. The Cherokee Nation says it will​ challenge the opinion if a new opinion isn't issued under the new administration.

The Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee (UKB) are in conflict after a recent Department of Interior opinion declaring the UKB has equal rights to the Cherokee Nation and can now offer gaming.

Cherokee Nation, UKB Battle Over Jurisdiction and Gaming

The UKB, federally recognized in 1950, ran a small casino in Tahlequah for 28 years before it was shut down in 2013 after the Cherokee Nation obtained an injunction. The Cherokee Nation argued in court the casino was not on trust land and was therefore illegal.

The Department of Interior’s opinion has brought hope to the UKB.

“It was such a huge relief,” said Tori Holland, UKB congressional delegate and attorney. “We have been saying for so long that we have concurrent jurisdiction, and at every turn, we have to fight for our legitimacy, and reiterate we are federally recognized. We do have these rights, and it’s so nice to finally have a piece of paper from the United States that confirms everything that we have been saying.”

Opinion Brings Opportunity and Challenges

The UKB owns a 76-acre property in Tahlequah, which Holland said is the only land-in-trust they currently have. “The opinion reiterates that we have concurrent jurisdiction over the reservation. It says that we can have lands and trust for gaming purposes. And so this really is an open door for us to move forward in a positive way.”

However, Holland acknowledged cooperation from the Cherokee Nation would be necessary, something that has been difficult for decades.

“We're asking Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma leadership to work with us and try to work these things out without another round of litigation,” said UKB Attorney General Klint Cowan. “It will take a process in order for us to get that land actually taken into trust and then to work this issue through the courts before we can open a casino on that land.”

Read the full opinion below:

Cherokee Nation Pushes Back

The Cherokee Nation has made its stance clear. Attorney General Chad Harsha said, “We have had a long-standing treaty relationship, compacting relationship with the United States government, and the United Keetoowah Band has not. And so I take exception to these claims that they lay out to the public that somehow they're entitled to that. They’re certainly not, and I take issue with that.”

The Cherokee Nation maintains the UKB's claims to Cherokee Nation treaty rights are unfounded. The Cherokee Nation says it will not support what they said is "an erosion of the Cherokee Nation's sovereignty".

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. has also been vocal on the issue, calling the UKB a “threat to public safety” in an October letter.

A History of Division

The tension between the two tribes is deeply rooted in history. The UKB says it was formed after the U.S. passed the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act in 1936, and its constitution was ratified in 1950. The UKB claims to be a successor to the historic Cherokee Nation, forcibly removed from the Southeast during the Trail of Tears, and says divisions date back to the Civil War. The UKB fought for the Union while the Cherokee Nation sided with the Confederacy.

The Cherokee Nation disputes this narrative. It claims the UKB did not organize until a 1946 Act of Congress and that lawmakers did not set aside for the UKB. The Cherokee Nation also points out its treaties with the U.S., which established the Cherokee Nation Reservation, predate the UKB’s federal recognition by more than a century.

Recent Jurisdictional Issues

The Department of Interior’s opinion follows another clash involving a DUI case in Tahlequah. A UKB officer detained a suspect, but a judge dismissed the case, ruling the officer lacked jurisdiction on Cherokee Nation land.

The UKB argued its officers can detain non-Native citizens under Supreme Court precedent, but the Cherokee Nation disagreed.

Cherokee County District Attorney Jack Thorpe, who prosecuted the case, said, “After discussing [it] with the Cherokee Nation Attorney General, my office will not refile the DUI charge.” Thorpe added he is awaiting further clarification from the Department of Interior on the matter.

As the two tribes continue to clash over land, jurisdiction, and sovereignty, the dispute shows no signs of resolution.