Eastern Band per capita payments fall 12 percent

Tuesday, June 2, 2009  

Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina saw a 12 percent drop in per capita payments.

Each tribal member received $3,892, down from $4,473 last December. Payments are distributed twice a year.

“When the casino was brought in it was to help us live better,” tribal member Charlene Cornwell told The Asheville Citizen-Times. “We were promised that the checks would never go down.”

The payments reflect a drop in business at the Harrah's Cherokee Casino. The tribe laid off 5 percent of the workforce in January.

Get the Story:
Casino payments to tribe drop (The Asheville Citizen-Times 6/2)