Missouri tribe’s plans for casino revived

Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

The Shawnee Tribe's plans for the casino were revived this week when President Clinton signed legislation providing financial aid and other assistance to dozens of U.S. tribes.

The Omnibus Indian Advancement Act also severs the Shawnee Tribe's ties with the Cherokee Nation, which legally absorbed the tribe 130 years ago.

Now with independent status, the Shawnee Tribe may have the legal authority to offer public reservation gambling at the Johnson County site. But first it will need the approval of the state, which is giving priority to resident tribes of Kansas.

"We still believe there are four resident tribes in Kansas that are eligible for a gaming compact with the state, and we've compacted with all of them," said Don Brown, a spokesman for Gov. Bill Graves.

"It certainly will take some additional clarification and convincing on our part before we would enter into negotiations with any nonresident or landless tribe."

The Johnson County casino would be jointly developed by the Shawnee Tribe and Olathe-based Butler National Corp. on 72 acres of former Shawnee reservation land south of West 83rd Street, about three miles west of Kansas 7.

Since 1992, Butler has had a contract to develop and manage a tribal gambling facility at the site for about 70 local Shawnee and non-Indian heirs and owners of the land.

An earlier plan faltered when the Cherokee tribal council voted down proposals to pursue the casino under the Cherokee tribe's federal gambling authority.

Now, a new pursuit of the casino could be a lengthy process for the Shawnee Tribe.

"We have to set up a tribal organization and government," said Greg Pitcher, Oklahoma-based director of the tribe. "We need to find out what our authority is. We're assuming we would have (reservation) jurisdiction" in Johnson County.

"And we will have to decide if that (casino) is still an option," Pitcher said. "My guess is it's going to take a lot of time."

The estimated 3,000-member tribe has sought independent status for nine years.

Before the casino could open, the Shawnee Tribe would have to win reservation status for the land and then negotiate and sign a compact with the state, spelling out casino management and gambling guidelines.