Thursday, September 07, 2006

As reported by the Kansas City Star: "The Justice Department said Tuesday
that it would appeal a federal judge's ruling that appeared to permit a
tribal casino to resume operating in downtown Kansas City, Kan. "In July,
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson overturned a 2004 decision by the
National Indian Gaming Commission that disqualified the land for tribal
gambling. "While upholding several underlying elements of the commission's
decision, Robinson overturned its ultimate conclusion, ruling that the
purchase of the half-acre tract in 1996 by the Oklahoma-based Wyandotte
Nation amounted to settlement against the United States of a land claim
whose roots reached back to 1842. "City and state officials have challenged
the land's tribal reservation status since it was granted by the federal
agency."