"Since a new law allowing the state to recognize Indian tribes took effect last year, six S.C. Indian tribes have applied for state recognition. Some readers understandably smell a rat - seeing the law as a back-door passage to S.C. casino gambling via the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Right now, only the Catawbas are in the gambling business in South Carolina. That tribe, the only one in in the state with federal recognition, has a bingo hall on its reservation in York County and is negotiating to build a high-stakes bingo operation, with $100,000 jackpots, along Interstate 95 near Santee - a proposal that has run into legal opposition from the state.

Would state recognition of more tribes in fact open the door to casino gambling under Indian auspices in South Carolina? Not to worry. State recognition confers no hope of gambling rights. Nor would state recognition move the tribe receiving it any closer to federal recognition - which all tribes claiming their rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act must have."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Don't Fear S.C. Tribal Recognition (The Myrtle Beach Sun News 12/1)

Relevant Links:
South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs - http://www.state.sc.us/cma

Related Stories:
Preliminary recognition for South Carolina tribes (11/30)
State recognition expected for South Carolina tribes (11/29)