The Eastern Shawnee Tribe, now operating in Oklahoma, wants to right what it considers to be a great wrong by returning to Ohio, from which it was ejected more than 100 years ago.
The 3,200-member tribe has purchased 50 acres near Lewistown, Logan County and has petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs to put the land into trust. The tribe has not said whether it contemplates building a casino there.
According to Chief Glenna Wallace, quoted by the Bellefontaine Examiner, “We have no specific development plans, but are considering our options of what this might be. We don’t rush into things overnight. We like to study our options and that is what we are doing here. We are testing the waters but want to let the locals help us decide what is best.”
The land in question can be shown to have been continuously owned by the tribe. It was part of a tract given to a tribal member in 1810. Some historical scholars maintain that the U.S. Government sold the land illegally in 1834.
