Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Dana Cope, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC), stated that North Carolina would do well to bring casinos to the state. Cope says casinos would create jobs and expand the tax base as well as the revenue of North Carolina. North Carolina already has a casino on the Cherokee reservation in the western North Carolina mountains. Cope wants the state to work with the Lumbee Tribe in southeastern North Carolina to give them rights to operate casinos. Cope further stated, "Look at what the Lumbees are doing and see if we can take aspects of what the Cherokees are doing in the western part of the state and try to replicate that in the eastern part of the state." Incoming Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger expressed skepticism about adding casinos in the state, saying, "I'm not familiar at this point with whether there's any legal authority for the Native Americans in the Robeson County area to have casinos." The governor has the authority to give Native American tribes casino rights, but only if they are federally recognized. The Lumbee have yet to receive full federal recognition from Congress. Cope stated that casinos could vastly relieve North Carolina's budget problems.