Kialegee Tribal Town files land-into-trust application in Georgia

Friday, April 8, 2011  

The Kialegee Tribal Town of Oklahoma has filed a land-into-trust application for 300 acres in Georgia.

The tribe wants to build a Creek village on the coast of Georgia. Plans also call for a hotel, entertainment center and golf course on a total of 4,300 acres that the tribe eventually wants to acquire.

The Georgia Senate has already passed a bill to transfer some state-owned land to the tribe. But the tribe's application, which was submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, faces some serious questions.

"The regulations provide that the farther away from the reservation the land is, the greater scrutiny must be given," Robert Anderson, the director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "And that scrutiny includes the affect it will have on local jurisdictions. State and local governments have to be notified and be given a chance to comment."

Get the Story:
Richard Thornton: Oklahoma Creek Indian tribe announces plans to create reserve in Georgia (The Architecture & Design Examiner 4/7)
Creek Indian Band Wants to Create Ga. Reservation ‎ (AP 4/7)
Gambling Fears Cloud Indian Claim (GPB News 4/7)
Gambling questions slow effort to create Indian reservation (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 4/8)