UKB Slams Senate Proposal Limiting Tribal Land, Gaming

The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (UKB) wants the immediate removal of a draft Senate provision it says would strip it of its ability to acquire trust land or operate gaming facilities within the Cherokee Nation Reservation.

“It’s Very Shocking”

Cherokee Nation citizen and member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Markwayne Mullin, authored the draft that could be attached to an upcoming federal appropriations bill passed by Congress.

According to the U.S. Senator’s proposal, none of the funds appropriated under the Act would be employed “to take land into trust within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation in Oklahoma” without obtaining a written consent from the Cherokee Nation.

Furthermore, Mullin wishes that that no other tribe would be given “tribal jurisdiction” within the respective territory, while asking that any trust land held by another tribe can only be used “for non-gaming purposes only.”

UKB Tribal Council attorney Tori Holland called the draft “very disturbing”, adding they were never notified or consulted and only learned about it because they “asked for information” via a Freedom of Information Act request, something she called “very disappointing to begin with.”

“It’s very shocking and surprising that this is essentially the termination language of a tribe,” Holland added. 

The proposal is even more concerning for the tribe as it was introduced by a member of Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, which raises the question of “whether or not he can be unbiased when it comes to matters that affect the United Keetoowah Band,” as argued by Holland.

UKB Chief Jeff Wacoche also blasted Mullin’s proposal, explaining it’s not “a policy disagreement” but “a deliberate, targeted act of tribal termination” while calling the language “a blatant betrayal of the US government’s trust responsibility, a violation of federal law, and an attack on tribal sovereignty.”

Wacoche described the draft as “genocide by redline”, saying it was “carried out not with muskets or manifest destiny, but with a secret pen in a Senate office.” He urged lawmakers, tribal leaders, and the public to demand the amendment’s withdrawal.

Decades-Old Conflict 

The problem between the two Tahlequah-based governments is deeply rooted in decades-old conflicts. 

While both trace their heritage to the historic Cherokee people, the Cherokee Nation insists it has exclusive jurisdiction over Cherokee lands in Oklahoma. 

The Nation currently runs 10 casinos, while the UKB has none, as its lone bingo hall, opened in 1986, was shut down in 2013 after legal action from the Nation and intervention by regulators.

A key obstacle for the UKB had been the lack of federally designated trust land, a requirement for casino operations under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. 

That changed in 2019 when the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the U.S. Interior Department’s decision to take 76 acres into trust for the UKB despite the Cherokee Nation’s opposition. In April 2025, the UKB signed a gaming compact with Oklahoma, now awaiting Interior Department approval.