On April 21, 2007, Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe commented that there is no need for him to formally voice out his opposition to the casino plan that an Indian Tribe from Oklahoma wants to construct in Fort Smith.
Governor Mike Beebe commented that his predecessor, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee already informed the Bureau of Indian Affairs that Arkansas is against the the Oklahoma Indian Tribe’s proposed gambling casino.
The tribe concerned, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, is already asking the Bureau of Indians Affairs for permission to pursue their casino plans in the state. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has not made a final decision on the matter and it could take a couple of years for the final decision.
In a television appearance on the “Arkansas Ask” call-in program for the Arkansas Educational Television Network, Governor Beebe commented that the period that has been reserved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a comment made by the Governor of Arkansas has passed.
However, Governor Beebe stated that it is not much of a problem because the former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee, voiced out his opposition and he agrees with that opinion.
27 June, 2007
