County wants meeting with Poarch Creeks amid casino dispute

Tuesday, June 12, 2012  

Officials in Escambia County, Alabama, want to meet with the Poarch Creek Band of Indians after demanding the tribe pay millions of dollars in taxes on its gaming facilities.

Some county officials claims the casinos aren't on trust land because the tribe didn't gain federal recognition until 1984. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar limits the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs recently sent a letter to the county, affirming the trust status of the tribe's reservations, including the gaming locations.

Get the Story:
Commission to extend invitation to PCI officials (The Brewtown Standard 6/11)
Interior affirms tribe’s status (The Wetumpka Herald 6/9)
Stokes: ‘There is a next step’ (The Brewton Standard 6/9)

Editorial: Sure looks like Poarch Creek casinos are here to stay (6/8)