The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will hold a referendum to determine if the tribe should allow liquor sales outside of its North Carolina gaming enterprise. The vote will determine if the tribe should open its own liquor store. No date has been set. Chief Richard Sneed said, “We could ease into it with one store to demonstrate that we have control and we know how to operate it. And, then we could build regulation afterwards for a question like this because as it stands right now there is no regulation on the books.”
The original language of the proposed referendum was changed to limit the liquor question to a tribal store. Under the previously proposed referendum, voters would have determined if liquor sales would be allowed “on tribal trust land at locations other than casino property.”
Currently liquor is sold at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel. Tribal members approved a referendum to allow those sales in 2009.
However, liquor sales are allowed at other businesses on the reservation under a state law, which supersedes tribal law. Sneed’s predecessor, Patrick Lambert, refused to issue liquor sales permits. After the state threatened to take action against the tribe, Lambert was removed from office by impeachment last year. Now tribe complies with the law. It has hired former tribal council member Terri Henry as the first director of the Tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
