Tribe eyes DeKalb
By Mark Harrison
Published December 31, 2005
A DeKalb County man who owns 69 acres adjacent to an ancient Indian
burial site in Fort Payne says he plans to donate the property to the
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, currently primarily in
Oklahoma.
The move could ultimately mean the relocation of several thousand
Keetoowah to the Fort Payne area, their ancestral home, David
Hammonds said.
The Keetoowahs operate casino gambling facilities in Oklahoma, but
Hammond said the focus on local development would not be on gaming.
Instead, Hammonds said the vision is to create a heritage center and
public museum to display artifacts that have been found at the burial
site. Hammonds said many of those artifacts are currently housed by
Jacksonville State University's archeological department, but there
are hopes to eventually relocate the artifacts to the museum, with
the understanding that JSU would have full access to study them.
Hammonds said another focus of the development would be to protect
the burial site, which is specifically related to the Keetoowah.
Hammonds said the Keetoowahs migrated north from this area and parts
of Georgia, some 190 years ago, before the Trail of Tears. He said
they were originally a part of what would later become known as the
Cherokee tribe. He said the Keetoowah migrated to Arkansas but were
subsequently relocated to Oklahoma by the federal government, where
they remain.
"This land rightfully belongs to the Keetoowah," Hammonds said, of
the 69 acres he plans to donate. "This is an ancient burial site and
it is significant to the Keetoowah as a tribe and also from a
historical perspective." He said he fears "grave robbers" might
attempt to disturb the site and believes the planned development
could help prevent that from happening.
Hammonds said he plans to donate the property within the next 30 days
and plans for site development could be presented as early as March.
However, he said any actual construction on the site would likely
have to wait until at least 2007, after ongoing projects on US 11 –
which runs adjacent to the burial site – have been completed. Until
then, Hammonds said a primary entry route into the property would be
blocked, forcing reliance on a secondary route. He said the
completion of the planned construction of a new I-59 interchange near
the development, which would provide convenient public access, would
also be a determining factor in how soon actual construction could
begin.
"Until it is completed, we will have to contend with the road
construction. That's really going to dictate how soon we can put
something out there," he said.
Hammonds said he envisions development of the site helping to
transform Fort Payne into a "major tourist attraction," similar to
Cherokee, N.C. or Gatlinburg, Tenn.
He said the Keetoowah could also offer sales of Native American
crafts at the site and said while business transactions on Native
American land is normally exempt from sales tax, American Indians may
chose to enter into a "compact" to collect local taxes on any sales
that are made. Hammonds said the Keetoowah have agreed to do this, so
the city and county would collect relevant sales taxes.
Keetoowah tribal leaders did not immediately return calls.
Hammonds said, so far, this is strictly a private transaction between
him and the Keetoowah, but said he has made city officials aware of
his plans. Fort Payne Mayor Bill Jordan said he would withhold
comment until he learns more details about the planned development.
Hammonds said he believes the development could be the impetus for
creating tourism-related jobs in the area.
DeKalb County Tourism Director Patty Tucker agrees.
"This could create jobs, lead to an increase in other tourism
opportunities and encourage additional growth in the county, aside
from what the Keetoowah develop," Tucker said. "I think it's a
wonderful idea and it's long been a dream of my own to see something
happen in Fort Payne that would commemorate our Cherokee heritage and
to honor them as well as other Native Americans who once lived on
this land."
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