TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A months-long feud over whether a small American Indian tribe can legally build a casino in a Tulsa suburb moves to federal court.
Oklahoma's attorney general has sued the Kialegee Tribal Town, and District Judge Gregory Frizzell will consider the state's request Wednesday for an injunction to halt building at the site in Broken Arrow.
The state says the tribe lacks authority under federal law to operate a gaming facility.
But the tribal town's king, Tiger Hobia, says the Kialegee are exempt from federal review, and says the casino would give the tribe its only chance to provide programs for its impoverished members.
The tribe broke ground on the Red Clay Casino site last year and has trucked in pre-fabricated buildings to temporarily house slot machines for its summer opening.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.