The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians held its May Tribal Council meeting on May 7, when Joe Bunch, UKB chief, announced the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled “moot” a dispute between the UKB, Cherokee Nation, and the U.S. Department of Interior.

“This next one is a biggie,” said Bunch. “With that they issued instructions to lower courts to dismiss the case. That is huge. With that, we can get our application to 2.63 acres of land in trust and finalize that.”

The two parties have battled over the land, which was allocated by the Interior Department to the UKB for gaming operations.