American Indian Cultural Center and Museum stuck in limbo


The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum sits unfinished in Oklahoma City. Photo from AICCM

A plan to finish the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in Oklahoma is expected to surface soon but whether lawmakers will support it is another question.

The facility in Oklahoma City has already cost about $90 million in state, federal and tribal funds. It needs another $80 million -- donors have pledged $40 million if the state comes up with the rest.

Lawmakers, however, have rejected prior proposals to come up with the money. A new plan could surface next week, as the session nears its conclusion at the end of the month.

“The specifics of it are still up in the air,” House Minority Leader Scott Inman (D) told The Enid News.

According to the paper, the facility requires $800,000 a year in utilities and warranties and another $600,000 in salaries even as it remains unfinished.

Get the Story:
Unfinished cultural center gets another hearing (The Enid News 5/8)
Oklahoma state senator stands pat against bond for Indian museum (The Oklahoman 5/3)

An Opinion:
Editorial: No new state debt for American Indian Cultural Center (The Tulsa World 5/5)

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