Poarch Creek Leader: Trust lands and gaming

Monday, June 29, 2009  

"We believe it is important to correct some grievous errors made in Gary Palmer's opinion piece published June 17 in your newspaper (Alabama Voices, Dangerous Bet). Mr. Palmer's guest column brings to mind the adage that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." He works very hard to connect a court case involving an Indian tribe in New England with our tribe, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama. But the comparison is inaccurate, and we cannot allow his opinion piece to stand as fact.

The laws governing Native American lands and their current use comprise a complicated, specialized area of the legal profession that requires years of study and practice before a level of expertise is reached. Palmer's lack of legal mastery is painfully apparent to those who do know the law, the history, and the current cases that affect Indian Country.

Palmer tries to connect the history of our land in Alabama with that of another tribe in New England. But that's like putting grits and lobster on one plate and calling it the same dish. Tribes, like the states they call home, are very different and they have different land use issues.

In fact, the lands where we still live and do business today have belonged to the Creek Indians since before any history was written. We were Alabama's first citizens and we are proud that we helped the earliest settlers make a home here. (More information can be found on our Web site, www.poarchcreekindians.org.) Sadly, like so many other tribes, our ancient lands were taken from us, and many of our fellow Creek Indians were moved to Oklahoma, far from home in Alabama. We, by comparison, were lucky. We retained some of our ancient lands. We also knew the history and location of other property that had been taken."

Get the Story:
Robert McGhee: Indian lands at issue (The Montgomery Advertiser 6/28)

Earlier Story:
Opinion: Ruling a threat to Poarch Creek gaming (6/17)