Wyandotte Tribe dealt another loss in fight for casino

Monday, Aug. 1, 2005 | 9:36 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A federal judge handed the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma another setback in its campaign for a casino in Wyandotte County.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ordered the U.S. Department of the Interior to revisit a 2002 decision that supported the tribe's purchase of a casino site as following federal law.

Robinson based her decision Wednesday on evidence that a third party helped the tribe buy the land, which would violate a federal statute treating the land as Indian property and eligible for development as a casino.

Tribal Chief Leaford Bearskin declined to comment specifically on the ruling, saying he hadn't seen it, but vented his frustration: "They've reviewed it three times."

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