Cherokees fight judge’s ruling that allows rival Catawba tribe to build NC casino
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Friday appealed a judge’s ruling that let the Rock Hill-based Catawbas build a North Carolina casino.
The Cherokee Nation also named the U.S. Department of Interior as a defendant in their notice of appeal filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.
In a statement on Saturday, Principal Chief Richard Sneed said the judge noted the complexity of the case and how his ruling was “a close call.”
Sneed said his tribe still believes the Department of Interior “violated law in authorizing the Catawba casino, and our appeal is simply the next step in the process to ensure that justice is done.”
The Cherokees sued after the Interior department approved the Catawbas’ application to take land in Kings Mountain into trust. The Catawbas have started building a temporary gaming facility on the land and eventually will construct their $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort on the property.
The temporary facility is scheduled to open by this fall at the site, about 30 miles west of Charlotte.
Earlier ruling against Cherokees
A federal judge in April said he found no basis for the Cherokees’ claims in the lawsuit filed in March 2020, The Associated Press reported.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians owns the only other casinos permitted by the state, both in the Western North Carolina mountains.
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino operates west of Asheville, near Maggie Valley about three hours west of Charlotte. Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino is a four-hour drive from Charlotte near Georgia and Tennessee.
In January, Gov. Roy Cooper and the Catawba Indian Nation signed a revenue-sharing agreement that cleared the way for Vegas-style gaming to be offered at a planned resort in Kings Mountain.
In their unsuccessful lawsuit, the Cherokees argued, in part, that historically the land was theirs and the federal department violated U.S. law in granting the land trust for the Catawbas.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg disagreed.
“In the end, though, they come up with snake eyes, as on each claim they either lack standing or lose on the merits,” the judge wrote in his 55-page opinion, according to the AP. He is based in Washington.
Staff writer Michael Gordon contributed.
This story was originally published May 22, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Cherokees fight judge’s ruling that allows rival Catawba tribe to build NC casino."