Group opposing Catawba Nation casino posts misleading photos

Monday, June 30, 2014

Artist's rendering of proposed Catawba Nation casino in North Carolina. Image: Catawba Nation Project Brief

An anti-casino activist who boasts that his Facebook group has more than 1,000 followers has been posting misleading photos in his fight against the Catawba Nation.

In one photo, Adam Forcade of the Kings Mountain Awareness Group suggests that children might be allowed on a tribal casino floor. The photo attached, however, depicts a gaming facility in Nepal that's located in a Radisson Hotel.

Another photo appears to show a blighted area a "couple of blocks" from the Resorts World Casino, a non-Indian gaming facility in New York City. However, a higher quality image from Google Maps shows a busy, middle-class neighborhood with a Home Depot just down the street.

A higher-quality image from Google Maps paints a different picture than one posted by anti-casino activist.

"We’re continuing to spread the word,” Forcade told The Charlotte Observer. “It’s starting to ripple and expand.”

The Catawba Nation is seeking to build a $600 million casino in North Carolina. Local officials and local business leaders support the project.

The tribe has submitted a land-into-trust application for the 16-acre site to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The tribe argues that the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act makes the acquisition mandatory.

Get the Story:
Opponents step up fight against Catawbas’ proposed casino in Kings Mountain (The Charlotte Observer 6/28) Related Stories:
Group opposes Catawba Nation casino bid in North Carolina (04/18)