The Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Atmore, Alabama.
Indian Country Today caught up with leaders of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and the Muscogee Nation and asked them about the Save Hickory Ground dispute. Eddie Tullis, a current council member and former chairman of the Poarch Band, said the tribe has preserved Hickory Ground despite a $246 million casino expansion at the site in Alabama. But he acknowledged that Creek ancestors were removed from their graves. "We did not dig up Hickory Ground," Tullis told ICT. "Hickory Ground is still preserved in place and protected forever." Tullis believes a lawsuit filed by the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma aimed at stopping the casino will be dismissed. But Muscogee George Tiger said his tribe will take the case as far as it can go. "Well, I believe any time you do anything to support your own people, if we make a commitment we stick with it. I believe that’s the direction we’re taking,” Tiger told ICT. Both leaders were in Phoenix, Arizona, for the recent National Indian Gaming Association conference. Get the Story:
Activists Rally for Sacred Sites During NIGA Convention (Indian Country Today 4/2) Relevant Documents:
Complaint: Muscogee Nation v. Poarch Band of Creek Indians (December 12, 2012) Related Stories:
Poarch Band faces two lawsuits amid $246M casino expansion (02/21)
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