BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma -
Construction took a break on Sunday, but the effort to build a casino in Broken Arrow continues. The Kialegee Tribal is developing the casino on 20 acres of land.
The casino has nearby residents worried about crime, but the Kialegees say they need it to help their tribal members. One man who has – literally - written a book on Indian gaming says the issue is starting to get out of control.
The Kialegee Tribal town has partnered with out of state developers to build the Red Clay Casino in Broken Arrow. The development has seen protesters and politicians do what they can to stop it.
But not everyone sees the casino as bad for Broken Arrow.
"I see it as a win-win for everybody if this goes in," said G. William Rice of the Native American Law Center.
G. William Rice is co-director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Tulsa. He's also a member of the United Keetoowah Band of the Cherokee Tribe.
"I sit there thinking, 'We've got somebody that's going to bring a business to town that's going to employ four or five hundred people probably, create several million dollars of economic activity in town.' It would seem to me that would be a win," Rice said.
Rice says the main question in Broken Arrow is who has jurisdiction over the land. Chief George Tiger of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation says his tribe has control over the property because it's owned by two sisters who belong to the Creek Nation.
1/20/2011 Related Story: No Eligibility Ruling Yet On Broken Arrow's Proposed Red Clay Casino
But those women are leasing the land to the Kialegees and an attorney for the tribal town says the Kialegees have jurisdiction.
Rice is worried that the fight over the casino here is sending the wrong message. He says it's important to remember that Indians have the same rights as anyone else - to develop their economies and live their own lives.
"That, I think, is a normal American process," he said. "It's something even Americans would just go completely crazy if somebody said we're going to take that away from you."
Rice says he'd like to see the those who are opposed to the casino work with the tribe to find ways to help them develop their economy instead of fighting against them.
"There's ways to turn this into a win for everyone. and I don't understand why nobody is asking those questions, why nobody's speaking that speech," said G. William Rice, an attorney at the Native American Law Center.
A spokesman for Broken Arrow Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming tells me they have nothing against the Kialegees' desire to become economically self-sufficient.
They question the legality of the casino and its location, saying it would make the tribe more money if it were located in Wetumka, where the Kialegees are based, because then it could employ tribal members.
G. William Rice is an attorney and a professor at the University of Tulsa.
The casino is under construction on 20 acres in Broken Arrow.
