Tribal Council decided by a razor-thin margin last week to pursue a $280 million deal to purchase the gaming operation at Caesars Southern Indiana Casino, which would mark the tribe’s first foray into the commercial gaming industry. During the same meeting, Council voted to set up a new LLC to oversee the venture. 

Tribal Council voted 10-1 today to table a resolution that would have allowed the tribe to move forward with a $290 million agreement to purchase the gaming operation at Caesar’s Southern Indiana Casino.

In a closely divided vote following an at-times tense discussion Thursday, Dec. 3, the Cherokee Tribal Council removed Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise Chairman Jim Owle from his post. 

After a yearlong delay, the effort to bring sports betting to Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos is finally moving forward following Gov. Roy Cooper’s approval of a proposed amendment to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ gaming compact. Tribal Council approved the amended compact by unanimous vote on Thursday, Dec. 3, a move that those present in the chamber greeted with enthusiastic applause.

UPDATE: The N.C. Board of Transportation unanimously approved the renaming during its Dec. 2 meeting. 

The 4.2-mile stretch of U.S. 441 between U.S. 19 and the Smoky Mountain Expressway in Whittier will soon be known as the Beloved Man Dr. Jerry Wolfe Highway if the N.C. Board of Transportation approves the naming request at its Dec. 2 meeting. 

Blythe Winchester has known since a young age that she wanted to be a doctor. She remembers “doctoring” her dolls as a child in Cherokee’s Wolfetown community, using the empty needleless syringes her father would bring home from his job as a social worker. The little girl would inject the toys with Coca-Cola, staining their plush bodies brown. 

As November is recognized as Native American Heritage Month, it seemed like a perfect time for Nikwasi Initiative leaders to give Macon County commissioners an update on their long-term vision to bring more awareness to the Nikwasi Mound and other lands that hold cultural significance to the Cherokee people. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is hoping to close a deal to buy Caesars Southern Indiana Casino, with Tribal Council on Nov. 12 giving Principal Chief Richard Sneed the go-ahead to incur the costs necessary to pursue the purchase, to the tune of approximately $10.5 million. 

The first phase of a development effort worth tens of millions of dollars is expected to open in 2022 following the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Nov. 10 groundbreaking at the 200-acre site it purchased along Interstate 40 in Tennessee last year. 

The 18th chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was a lot of things — a World War II veteran, a dedicated father and stepfather, a leader in tribal politics — and if county commissioners OK a proposal from Tribal Council, “namesake of Jackson County” could soon be added to Walter S. Jackson’s list of accomplishments.