Appeals court revives lawsuit in fight between 2 tribes over Alabama casino

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit filed by one Native American tribe over another’s construction of a casino on what they said is historic and sacred land.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a judge’s decision that dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Oklahoma-based Muscogee (Creek) Nation over the constriction of the casino in Alabama. The three-judge panel directed the trial judge to do a “claim by claim” analysis of whether officials with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama have sovereign immunity that would prevent them from being sued.

The long-running dispute involves land, known as Hickory Ground, that was home to the Muscogee Nation people before their removal to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. The Poarch Band, a separate tribal nation that shares ancestry with the Muscogee, now owns the land and built one of its Wind Creek casinos on the site. The Muscogee Nation filed a lawsuit against Poarch officials, the Department of the Interior and others over the excavation of graves and development of the site.

David Hill, principal chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, called the decision a monumental victory for the tribe.

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