A special report by the Tulsa World said in November 2009, two months after winning election to the tribal council, Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma Chief George Tiger was paid $31,500 to promote the Kialegee Tribal Town’s controversial Red Clay Casino to be built on an Indian allotment in Broken Arrow—a direct competitor with the Muscogee Nation’s River Spirit Casino, located 11 miles away. Kialegee Tribal Town also promised Tiger a 5 percent stake in the casino, $5,000 per month once it opened and up to $200,000 in bonus payments.
Although Tiger said he stopped acting as a project consultant for the project upon assuming office in early 2010, he continued to receive checks after joining the council, with the last payment made in September 2011, just before he was elected chief. Then he announced his opposition to the project. Tiger said his actions were legal and not a conflict of interest because they occurred before he was sworn into office as a tribal councilor.
The state of Oklahoma sued to stop the Kialegee’s development. But later the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe and its leaders are protected by sovereign immunity.
Developer Shane Rolls said “You hire a consultant who knows the way and can open the door. The way I know to get into Indian country is hire an Indian.” Tiger worked behind the scenes with Rolls and the Kialegee Tribal Town to gain approval for the Kialegee casino. “I’ve been involved with tribal government since I was 24 years old, so I know right from wrong when it comes to conduct of an elected official,” said Tiger. Rolls added, “Tiger and I were very careful, and I always said, ‘I’m not doing anything illegal.’ That’s why you’ve got agreements. That’s why you’ve got canceled checks and everything. I could have just given him cash.”
The contract between Rolls and Tiger contains a clause requiring the agreement and payments to Tiger be kept confidential, even after the contract expires. Tiger said he never disclosed the contract to his tribe, even though he vetoed tribal legislation opposing the Red Clay Casino. The deal to open the casino faltered in 2012, but records show Rolls already paid Tiger more than $20,000 by then.
Tiger changed his views about the casino after he was sworn in as chief and opposition to the competitor grew. At the time, the project appeared to be going nowhere and Tiger calculated it was not worth the political cost, said Rolls’ attorney Joe Farris. Records show that after Tiger was elected chief, Rolls wrote him a check for $7,000 but stopped payment when Tiger publicly opposed the casino project. Rolls said, “The minute he went against me, I said, ‘Don’t cash it’ and he said, ‘No problem.’ And then I cussed him out a little bit and went on down the road.”
Some tribal leaders said Tiger’s contract with Rolls proves he acted against his own tribe’s interests. The Kialegee casino would have stolen up to $40 million annually from the River Spirit Casino, said then-Creek Nation Chief A.D. Ellis. “It was going to hurt our casino a lot,” said Ellis. He estimates Tiger would have collected about $2 million a year from the Kialegee casino “if it was moderately successful.” He publicly opposed the Red Clay Casino, calling it “encroachment of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s jurisdiction.”
Today many wonder where Tiger stands and whether he will support the Kialegee’s new casino plan. Because the tribe has no land in the Tulsa area, the new casino most likely would be built on Creek land, requiring support from Tiger and a majority of the tribe’s council for a “nation to nation” agreement. However, the Creek Nation’s River Spirit Casino is in the midst of a $329 million expansion, adding a Margaritaville-themed casino, restaurant and 27-story hotel. The lender’s terms for that project specify that the Creeks may not open a competing casino in the surrounding area.
When asked whether he will support the Kialegees’ efforts to open a Tulsa-area casino, Tiger said, “Economic development is certainly something that I certainly support. We can do it nation to nation. That’s something that has to be considered very heavily.” He said supporting the Red Clay Casino would not be acting against his own tribe’s interests. He said the Creek Nation has a “unique relationship” with the Kialegees and other tribal towns that are part of the Creek’s history. “They’re all federally recognized tribes, but they are also members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, so how can you sell out someone that you are representing?” Tiger asked.
