Cherokee contemplates Wal-Mart’s impact

By Quintin Ellison

Some residents on the Cherokee Indian Reservation are calling for a referendum vote on whether Wal-Mart Stores should be allowed to build there.

The push for public participation comes as tribal leaders continue a series of negotiations with the retail giant, which currently has one super center in neighboring Sylva and is building another in Waynesville. If tribal leaders and Wal-Mart can iron out details, the Wal- Mart would most likely build on a tribally owned tract of land near the Cherokee Indian Hospital.

Tens of thousands of additional dollars are at stake for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: Wal-Mart, like other commercial outlets on the reservation, would be subject to a 7-percent tribal sales tax on all goods sold.

The additional revenue doesn’t settle the issue for all of the tribe’s 13,500 members, however. Some say money is simply not enough reason to risk damaging the reservation’s small-town feel, and, possibly, putting some small business owners out of business.

Principal Chief Michell Hicks said that tribal leaders anticipate releasing a statement about Wal-Mart “within weeks.”

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/05_07/05_16_07/fr_cherokee_mart.html

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