State attorneys argue tribe has no right to land

The tribe said its lawsuit is an extreme step intended to force negotiation.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- A Native American tribe has no legitimate right to land it left in the 1830s, state attorneys argued in a court motion challenging the tribe's claim that the land was taken illegally.
The Eastern Shawnee tribe of Oklahoma sued Ohio in June, seeking to regain about 146 square miles of western Ohio. The claims in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Toledo, include the entire city of Wapakoneta, parts of Lima and rural land near Bellefontaine.
Attorneys for the state say the land the Shawnee is claiming has become more urban and is divided among private landowners.
"For these and other reasons, it is both impossible and inequitable for the Eastern Shawnee to ask this court to try to turn the hands of time back almost 200 years," lawyers for Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro said in Friday's filing.
An attorney representing the tribe has said the lawsuit is an extreme step aimed at forcing the state to negotiate with the Shawnee over opening casinos in sites where local leaders want the tribe.
Terry Casey, a lobbyist for the tribe, said Friday that Petro's move was expected. He said he hadn't seen the filing and couldn't comment on the legal arguments.
Petro said he will continue to do everything he can to uphold state laws that prohibit casino gambling in Ohio.