The Alabama- Coushatta Tribe of Texas recently made a presentation to the board of directors of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments regarding the tribe’s plans to open a casino on reservation lands in Polk County. Tribal Council Chairperson Nita Battise said the tribe has begun the process of receiving state regulatory approval and plans to open the casino early next year.
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe had operated a casino until it was shut down by the state in 2002. Later the U.S. Department of the Interior ruled the tribe was a sovereign nation and had the right to conduct gaming on its lands as long as it complied with state gaming laws. As a result, Battise said, the new casino will offer electronic bingo.
Battise also told DETCOG board members the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe has been operating under a “cookie- cutter” constitution the War Department had given to Indian tribes. She said the tribe is in the process of writing a new constitution to match its contemporary legal status.
