"With the news of Wanda George Warren's pleading guilty to embezzlement on Tuesday, my first thought was, 'What's happened to all the bright plans and promise of the Catawba's $50 million land claim settlement of 1993?'

If federal recognition of the tribe in 1993 was the high point for the Catawbas, could there be a lower point than now? ?

� Most of the tribe's offices have been dark since December when 70 office workers were laid off over an accounting dispute with the Bureau of Indian Affairs: There are ongoing negotiations, but there's no specific resolution on the horizon.

� A plan for a high stakes bingo operation in Orangeburg County, to create a much needed new revenue stream for the tribe, has fallen flat.

� And now, the highest profile woman in Catawba history has admitted in federal court to embezzling more than $24,000 in connection with a tribal-authorized trip to Switzerland in November 2000."

Get the Story:
Dan Huntley: For woman and her tribe, sad times now (The Charlotte Observer 3/16)
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Former Catawba Nation official pleads not guilty (10/22)
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Indictment of ex-tribal official started with DOI (10/08)
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