The Western District of Oklahoma granted the Comanche Nation’s emergency motion for a temporary restraining order enjoining construction at a location at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Here are the materials:
From the order:
Before the Court is the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary Restraining Order [Doc. No. 2] filed on August 15, 2008. Plaintiffs ask the Court to enter a temporary restraining order enjoining Defendants from commencing or continuing the construction of a warehouse on the Ft. Sill Military Reservation at the southern base of Medicine Bluffs. Medicine Bluffs is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Plaintiffs contend that the proposed warehouse location, just south of the boundary of the historic features area, is a significant religious and ceremonial site protected by federal law from disruption or interference.
Plaintiffs provided notice to Defendants of the filing of this lawsuit as well as the Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and, on August 15, 2008, the Court met with counsel for Plaintiffs and counsel for Defendants to hear argument and consider the request for a temporary restraining order.
By affidavit, Plaintiff Jimmy Arterberry, Jr., establishes that Defendants intend to begin deep excavation of the proposed warehouse site on Monday, August 18, 2008, and that this excavation precedes the laying of a permanent concrete foundation for the warehouse. Plaintiffs contend that, because the excavation location is a site considered by the Comanche Nation to be a sacred area and is used by members of the Comanche Nation for traditional religious and ceremonial purposes, the imminent excavation of the site will cause permanent, irreparable harm.
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