In December, members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will receive the highest per capita payments since the first one was issued nearly 20 years ago. Every enrolled member will receive ,189, or ,088 after the mandatory tax and ,261 after the voluntary tax. The payments are made twice a year, based on the profits of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel, which opened in September 2015. Half of the casino profits go to tribal government and the other half is to the per capita payments.
In addition, the tribal council passed a resolution introduced by Principal Chief Patrick Lambert allowing tribal members to borrow against their upcoming per capital payment for a zero-interest loan of up to $500 a month; a $35 application fee will apply. Lambert said, “If there’s a young family, a mother and a father in a home, and they borrow against their own per-cap payment, that’s an extra thousand dollars coming into that household. That can be life-changing.”
Lambert said the loans offer an alternative to paying exorbitant interest fees to loan sharks known to prey on Cherokee families facing financial emergencies. “Last per cap we had 120 checks that went to one person, $600,000 went to one person last per cap. One address got 120 checks. Now if that’s not in itself enough reason to do this, I think the consideration of what everybody’s having to face and needing a little money to tide them over should be,” Lambert said.
Within the first week the loans were made available, more than 2,000 people had applied, representing nearly 15 percent of tribal members.
