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February 16, 2007
New Casino in the Works
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| I'm a member of the Muscogee
Indian Tribe (see tribal government site here).
I found out about this when I was 8 years old and was named as a recipient
in a legal settlement. The US government had to compensate members of
the tribe for a bad land deal. The Muscogee, also known as the Creeks,
are one of the 5 "civilized" tribes, and Alabama was formed out of land
ceded by the Creeks after a foiled uprising. I've been trying to find a way to start a casino based on my indian ancestry. The first indian casino in the US was the brainchild of somebody with the same percentage of Native American ancestry as me. So far I've been unsuccessful in getting the US to return Alabama for this purpose. The entire process has left me with much inner turmoil. The genes passed to me by my father have been busy oppressing the genes my mother has passed down to me. But an equitable solution may now be at hand, and thanks go out to my dad's genes. The image above is from a BLM land patent search and shows a deed granted to my namesake (great grandfather) in 1911. The deed was signed by President Taft, and has been digitally recorded by the BLM. So now if I can get the state of New Mexico to return the traditional Glazner lands to me, and if I can get the Muscogee Nation to buy off on establishing a casino in New Mexico, my inner turmoil will end. Of equal import is the fact that the New Mexico based casino will pay homage to both my lineages. It will have an on-site Texaco and Stuckeys complete with pecan log rolls and now "politically incorrect" toy indian spears with the rubber tips and multicolored feathers. Both of which were things I gravitated to on my many childhood trips from California to Estancia, New Mexico. If that doesn't work out maybe a mitigation bank is another option. |
Posted by Lon at February 16, 2007 08:34 AM
Comments
In addition to the famous Stuckey's Pecan Log, will you also be offering Chico grown Ah-monds?
Posted by: Anthony Watts at February 16, 2007 11:47 AM
Anthony,
To high rollers like I expect you'll be I'll be offering ah-munds and Celebration Ale on a year-round basis.
And remember, what happens at the "Up the Creek Casino" stays at the "Up the Creek Casino".
Lon
Posted by: Lon at February 16, 2007 12:34 PM
According to legend, founder W.S. Stuckey selected new locations by starting at an existing Stuckey's, drinking a lot of coffee, and driving down the highway until he needed to use a restroom. The area in which he used the restroom would become the new Stuckey's location, and if he had to use it inside a person's house, he or she would become the owners of the store.
How will you choose your Stuckey's location in New Mexico? Mind you, drinking Celebration Ale and then driving is illegal.
Posted by: Anthony at February 16, 2007 02:05 PM
Anthony,
I am bound only by the rigorous code of the Creek warrior.
I expect that soon I'll need to have a vision quest to help me answer some of the important questions you have asked. Celebration Ale will be a part of that journey.
Lon
Posted by: Lon at February 16, 2007 02:50 PM
Anybody remember the Stuckeys on Interstate 5 between Orland and Willows? Oh my, let the good times roll.
Posted by: L.A. Simpson at February 16, 2007 05:35 PM
If there was a Stuckeys on I-5 why did my parents drive me to New Mexico every summer?
Hunting horny toads in my Grandma's garden was fun and all that, but I'm pretty sure we were there for the pecan logs.
Lon
Posted by: Lon at February 16, 2007 06:38 PM
Estancia! You got to be kidding.
That's where my Mamaw and Papaw would drive to get groceries. They lived in Moriarity, which is just a few miles North where the road to Estancia hits hwy 66.
Our Stuckeys was just West out of town and had a pit full of rattlesnakes. You could drop a few rocks through the chain link cover and get them all buzzing at you. I think there was another one East of town at Clines Corners.
Moriarity had bigger horney toads than Estancia. (neener neener) I would watch them sit on a big red ant pile and eat them as fast as they came out of the hole. They'd start out flat and before long their feet couldn't reach the ground and they'd have to roll off the pile.
Posted by: Gregg Payne at February 17, 2007 12:29 AM
Gregg,
Moriarty was for chumps. Most of the horned lizards in that neck of the woods were the skinny type. Over in Estancia our horny toads were all plump and pleasing to touch.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/thlizard/
You probably spent all your afternoons at Rip Griffin's Truck Stop, drinking coffee and discussin' Jackalopes.
Now Estancia, that was the town for me. Whether it was short trips to the feed store or a longer trip for burgers in Mountainair, they were all about "quality of life". And talk about culture, a trip to the Salinas Pueblo Missions was hard to beat.
And for something to file away in your unimportant trivia notebook... The movie "Convoy" with Kris Kristofferson and Ally McGraw was filmed in Estancia. They built a fake "small town" around the real one. During the movie's climax the truckers destroy the small town of the evil lawman (Ernest Borgnine) by driving through these false facades. I was there during the filming.
On a sad note, horny toads are much less common there than they were when we were kids. I think it's because of big game hunters.
Lon
Posted by: Lon at February 17, 2007 08:03 AM
I hear that in the final desperation years of Stuckeys, they changed the content of the Slim Jims they sold at the counter after a brief stint with a local product that failed, called "Toad Logs". But, that may be an urban legend.
Or it could be that Lon used one too many of those toads in his "vision quests".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_toad
Posted by: Anthony at February 17, 2007 08:24 AM