Some notes from Cherokee: Alcohol, Wal-Mart and Stimulus
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to allow alcohol sales at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. The casino, which has been open going on a decade, has been hamstrung (although in that hamstrung-yet-very-profitable sort of way) by its inability to sell alcohol. The Qualla Boundary is dry — and will likely remain so — because tribal members hold an understandably dim view of alcohol. Enrolled members earn twice-yearly cuts of casino profits, though, and so have seen the light through the bottom of the glass where the casino is concerned.
Read the backstory here from the Smoky Mountain News.
Wal-Mart
After considerable deliberations with Wal-Mart — not over whether it should be in Cherokee, but over the terms of the agreement — the Eastern Band has made a deal with the Arkansas behemoth, and Wal-Mart will soon build on the Boundary. The biggest immediate impact will likely be seen at the Sylva Super Wal-Mart, which was long one of the southeast’s highest-grossing units (a dubious distinction), but which is now being squeezed by a new store just over Balsam Gap in Haywood County, and will be impacted much more severely by the Cherokee store. No doubt the tribe wants a cut of the Wal-Mart action in Sylva: a significant portion of the Sylva store’s customer base comes from the Boundary, particularly at per capita check time.
The new store is planned for land roughly adjacent the intersection of US 441 and US 19, across Hospital Rd. from the new Cherokee Phoenix movie theater complex.
Federal Stimulus
Eastern Band Principal Chief Michell Hicks says the tribe has requested $18 million in stimulus money. $1.3 million has already been appropriated, almost all of which is earmarked for road improvements on the boundary.
Tags: Balsam Gap, Cherokee, cherokee indians, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Qualla Boundary, Sylva, wal mart
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