The legal arguments presented in the Comanche’s petition include a footnote directly referencing that case. Together with the Apache and other Plains tribes, the Comanche fear the Chickasaw’s westward expansion - with the blessing of Interior - threatens their more modest gaming operations and tribal income.Īs it happens, the justices still have a second Indian law case pending before them that’s also rooted in Oklahoma. The result cost the Comanche precious time in seeking relief, and it’s haunted their efforts since in the federal courts. In fact, the Comanche were blindsided that construction was already underway on the new Chickasaw casino before Interior published the required public notice in the summer of 2017.
Indeed, the newly-built, disputed casino is the 22nd such gaming operation in an already huge multibillion dollar empire controlled by the Chickasaw Nation, the richest of the Five.
