Five years after the federal government denied the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma's first request for a land trust in Cayuga County, the Oklahoma tribe has once again proposed plans to build a casino.
According to the Auburn Citizen, in a letter received by the Cayuga County officials this week, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs reported the Seneca-Cayuga tribe has applied to have 229 acres of land — located mostly in Aurelius and partially in Montezuma near the Cayuga Seneca County line— put into a US land trust, with plans to build a gaming and entertainment center on the property.
If the BIA approves the Miami, Oklahoma-based tribe's application, the land will be taken off the tax rolls.
After years of legal battles, the Seneca-Cayuga tribe's plans were scrapped in 2008 after the BIA decided that the 1,500-mile distance between the tribe's reservation and its proposed casino would not provide adequate employment opportunities for individuals living in the Oklahoma reservation.
