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The State of Ohio, once a defendant in the Eastern Shawnee’s land-claim lawsuit, will be permitted to intervene in the case, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The Oklahoma-based tribe wants to build resort-style casinos throughout Ohio by securing aboriginal land to which it claims to have rights.
When the tribe voluntarily dismissed the state from its case in July, Attorney General Jim Petro said the move proved its claims to thousands of acres of former reservation land were “baseless” and “without merit.”
Petro, however, sought to reenter the case weeks later when the tribe asked U.S. District Court Judge James G. Carr in Toledo to accept a series of settlements with private landowners.
The settlements include a land option for 49 acres at Ohio 21 and Arcadia Street Northwest in Lawrence Township with N & N Development. The tribe is negotiating with neighboring land owners for additional property.
“Being allowed to intervene is a success for us today,” said Mark Anthony, a spokesperson for the attorney general. “We suspect that the plaintiffs, the Shawnee, are trying to convince local governments and landowners to negotiate away Ohio’s land rights and land. It’s not something a local government and land owner can do under the law.”
Mason Morisset, an attorney for the Eastern Shawnee, could not be reached for comment. Terry Casey, a Columbus-based lobbyist representing the tribe, deferred comment to Morisset.
Casey, however, believed the court’s ruling was a procedural step and would have no effect on the tribe’s case.
In its motion, the state opposed settlement language that said the tribe has “a historical nexus to the lands subject to the settlements.” The state argued that court approval of the settlements could be construed as a “blanket acceptance of the historical status” of the tribe, according to Carr’s ruling.
Carr said the state met four criteria to intervene: timeliness, a substantial legal interest, the possibility of impairment of the ability to protect the substantial interest absent intervention and inadequate representation by parties already in the case.
“The people of Ohio and the State of Ohio have a substantial interest in whether the purchased land will remain under state control, and thus subject to state law, and whether Ohio gambling regulations will be enforceable,” Carr wrote.
Casino gambling is illegal in Ohio. If Carr accepts the settlements, the tribe must still have the land taken into trust by the Department of the Interior. Casey has said the full scope of the project will not be realized until the tribe knows how much land it has to work with.
The former Republic Steel site in Massillon was first targeted for the project. The tribe asked Canal Fulton City Council in April to negotiate a revenue-sharing agreement, but talks stalled.
“The land claims don’t have any merit,” Anthony said. “On top of that, they are just disguised attempts to bring casino gambling to Ohio. In addition to shining a bright light on their strategy, we will also fight them in court.”
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