SANDERSVILLE — A Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians tribal judge heard about three and a half hours of testimony Monday before deciding to take a request to allow tribe members to vote on whether to construct a casino in the Bogue Homa Community near Sandersville under advisement.
Judge Jeffrey Webb heard arguments from tribe officials, as well as the Choctaws who filed a petition requesting that tribe members be allowed to vote on the issue. The 9 a.m. hearing was held at the Smith John Justice Complex in Neshoba County.
On June 8, the Tribal Council voted 8-7 to approve the building of the new casino. Vickie Rangel, petition spokesperson, along with fellow Choctaws Austin Tubby and Bobbie Frazier, filed a petition application with the Tribal Council requesting a vote on June 15. The Tribal Election Committee (TEC) rejected the initial petition application, deeming it “deficient,” so the trio filed an amended version of the application on July 6. The amended application was determined to be too late for review. Petitions must be in within 14 days of a vote.
After hearing that the amended application was too late for review, the petitioners decided to move their case to Tribal Court. Petition sponsors then filed a letter of intent with the TEC informing them of the group’s plan to go to court.
“Members of the Choctaw Tribe have the constitutional right to petition for a referendum if they disagree with action taken by the Choctaw Tribal Council,” said Tribe Spokesman Warren Strain, comparing the tribal council to governmental bodies like a city council or county board of supervisors. “Three people have petitioned to hold a referendum and vote on the Jones County project but the Tribal Election Committee denied the petition.”
Strain said the denial was based on two reasons. First, “the petitioners did not file the application for petition in a timely fashion” and secondly, they “did not file their application with the appropriate office.”
Strain said Monday’s hearing was held so that the judge could hear arguments from both sides. “The petitioners want the judge to force the Tribal Election Committee to process the application and move forward with the referendum,” added Strain.
Rangel and other opponents just want the voice of the people to be heard. She argues that the Choctaw constitution and bylaws state that members of the tribe have the option of reserving power to approve or reject at the polls any act of the tribal council.
“The spirit of our constitution supports the participation of our membership in the direction of our tribe’s destiny,” Rangel wrote in her petition.
The tribe has already started constructing a 27,000-square-foot casino in the Bogue Homa community near Sandersville. The casino is expected to be equipped 500 to 700 slot machines. The casino would be a $17 million investment, employing about 250 people
Strain said Webb took the arguments of both sides under advisement and will rule at a later date.
“We are not sure when that will come,” said Strain. “It could be as soon as later this week or the first part of next week.”
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