Within hours after U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina introduced a bill to take into federal trust 16 acres along I-85 in Kings Mountain, Cleveland County, North Carolina, where the Catawba Indian Nation may build a casino, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians disputed the move. The ECBI own two casinos in North Carolina.
The Catawba tribe submitted a land-trust application to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs in September 2014, calling for a 1.8 million square foot casino resort. Graham’s bill could bypass the BIA and allow an act of Congress to approve the tribe’s land trust.
In a statement, the EBCI said, “The recent filing of a bill in the U.S. Senate to give North Carolina land to the South Carolina tribe for an off-reservation casino is nothing more than a modern day land grab by the federal government of Cherokee aboriginal lands. This action circumvents the existing process for the Catawba Indian Nation to acquire lands in South Carolina, is unprecedented in US history and a federal government bully tactic that should not be part of modern governing.”
The statement continued, “While the tribe respects and encourages progress for other Native American communities, including South Carolina’s Catawba Indian Nation, we encourage the Catawba Indian Nation to go through the same process in their home state of South Carolina that the EBCI did in North Carolina to build their business–to develop their on-reservation economy as it should be– in their community. Doing it the right way will ensure they are able to take care of their members and support their local community as we’ve done for years in North Carolina.”
According to the Charlotte Museum of History, the Catawba Indian Nation is one of the indigenous Indian tribes that settled the Carolina Piedmont more than 10,000 years ago and ranked among the most powerful tribes in the Carolinas. Catawba Indian Nation Chief Bill Harris said he has documents proving the proposed location is Catawba aboriginal land. He stated, “You can’t use imaginary lines to show where our aboriginal lands once were. Our ancestors were here before there was a North or South Carolina. We were here before there was a Carolinas at all. Early maps of America show that the Catawba Indians once occupied this land. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee are using inflammatory language to stir people up and make this an issue of crossing state lines, when it has nothing to do with that. These were once our lands, plain and simple.”
Kings Mountain Mayor Scott Neisler said, “I’m convinced the Catawba were part of our area even though we’re in North Carolina, and that they deserve the same chances as the Cherokees in preserving their culture.”
Neisler noted whether the casino is approved by the BIA or Congress, “It is really going to be a great economic driver for our county. It is documented that we have below average income levels in our area. The city of Kings Mountain would provide all services resulting in a tremendous boost in our utility revenue, not to mention the 4,000 projected jobs the initiative would create.”
In a statement, Cleveland County Commissioners said the “support economic development projects that will create new jobs in our community. Should this project move forward, the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners welcomes the opportunity to build relationships with the Catawba Indian Nation.”
U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr of North Carolina are co-sponsors of Graham’s bill. “The decision to pass this legislation is not one the Senators take lightly. They aren’t going to force this upon the people. Their decision will be based upon local feelings and what people want will be taken into consideration,” Harris said.
