The area in red shows the approximate borders of the land owned by the Eastern Shawnee Tribe. Image from Google Maps
>
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is interested in gaming on its ancestral land in Ohio but nothing is set in stone, Chief Glenda Wallace said.
The tribe acquired a 50-acre parcel in 2011 to re-establish its presence in west central Ohio. A casino, hotel and a resort are on the table pending discussions with the local community.
“For our tribe to be economically self-sufficient, it is going to be difficult to do business just in this one county in Oklahoma,” Chief Wallace told The Bellefontaine Examiner. “We want to make wise decisions but we don’t want to be anywhere we are not wanted.”
The site was part of an allotment owned by the daughter of war chief Blue Jacket.
A local attorney believes the land should have reverted to the tribe following the death of the woman's heirs.
The tribe once had a reservation in the same area until being forced to leave in 1832. It's near present-day Lewiston, which had been set aside as Indian territory under the Treaty of Fort Meigs in 1817.
The tribe will be asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to place the land in restricted status, according to news reports.
The site is more than 700 miles from tribal headquarters in Oklahoma.
Get the Story:
Eastern Shawnee may open resort near Indian Lake
(Lima Ohio 10/21)
Eastern Shawnee Tribe looks to return to Logan County
(The Bellefontaine Examiner 10/21)
Related Stories:
Eastern Shawnee Tribe to open resort at
ancestral site in Ohio (10/20)