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Supreme Court asks for opinion in Osage Nation case

By LENZY KREHBIEL-BURTON World correspondent
Published: 2/22/2011  12:45 PM
Last Modified: 2/22/2011  12:45 PM

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it would seek an opinion from the acting solicitor general, Neal Katyal, before deciding whether to hear an appeal from the Osage Nation.



In 2010, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the tribe’s claim that Congress never disestablished Osage County as a reservation and that tribal citizens who live and work within the county boundaries are exempt from state income taxes as per federal law. The suit against the Oklahoma Tax Commission was originally filed in 2001.

The May 2010 ruling placed the status of three of the tribe’s casinos in limbo. The Million Dollar Elm casinos in Tulsa, Skiatook and Ponca City are on land that is not held in trust by the federal government, which is a requirement in states where gambling is illegal. The tribe submitted an application to the Department of the Interior earlier this year to place the casinos’ land in trust.

“While this is just another step in what has been a very lengthy process, we are relieved by today’s decision and will continue to pursue every option available to us,” Osage Nation Principal Chief John Red Eagle said in a press release. “We are confident in the merits of our case, and we are hopeful the Supreme Court accepts our Cert petition.”

The Supreme Court will decide later this year whether to hear the case.


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Reader Comments 2 Total
dork74 (last year)
Not to knock the tribe in any way but I'm not sure that I understand this issue. They opened 3 casino's without all of the required permits (land in Federal trust) and they're still open for business? If this were my company that was operating illegally the Fed's (or State) would have shut me down and then I would have to go to court in order to re-open. This is B$!!

Maybe I'm not understanding the issue here so if I'm wrong, please explain it to me.
Shakezhudse (last year)
the state put themselves in this situation. the tribe, the federal govt. the state of oklahoma were all operating on the premise that it IS a reservation. Everyone wants the tribes, and the money they bring into the state up to the point where they start exercising the agreements made in 1906. The main reason they are considering it is that the lower court ruling is in direct conflict with previous rulings that state that if a reservation is not EXPLICITLY dissolved in legislation then it is in tact. If the state did not believe this was a reservation then they should not have put up signs (which are still up) that say you are entering the Osage Nation Reservation, or allowed those properties to be built in the first place. On top of that it remains indisputable that the the mineral estate is in reservation status, and there is well established law saying subsurface rights supersede surface rights. But that is moot considering the case law they would need to overturn for this to NOT be a reservation. It makes the status of reservation the will of the court which is a dangerous legal precedent.
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