The tribe will be permitted to buy up to 4,000 acres to expand its 630- acre reservation. But the acquisition and any zoning would be subject to approval by state and local governments. While most tribes have their own court systems and police forces and often have first crack at hunting and fishing, the Catawba will not. They will be allowed to create courts for misdemeanors, but any tribal court decision can be appealed to the state. The settlement would allow the Catawba to run two high-stakes bingo operations, but only if the Catawba give the state 10 percent of the gross.
Most tribes pay states nothing on their gambling take.
But to critics, the most onerous provision of the settlement is that theCatawba would be the first tribe to be taxed directly by the state. That's why, after 200 years, we still need special Indian status.