WETUMPKA, Ala. – Despite concerns from an Oklahoma tribe, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians resumed construction Wednesday on a multi-million dollar casino expansion project.

Since the expansion was announced in July, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, headquartered in Okmulgee, Okla., has opposed the project because of its potential desecration of Hickory Ground, the tribe’s last pre-removal capitol and home to ceremonial and burial grounds.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians suspended construction on Oct. 17 as a “show of good faith” towards the Oklahoma tribe after their leadership met at a neutral site to discuss the situation. Two additional meetings were held during construction suspension: one in Sacramento, Calif., during the annual convention of the National Congress of American Indians and one in Tulsa, Okla., to allow the mekko, or leader, of the ceremonial grounds to attend.

“We have taken great effort to make sure the original Hickory Ground ceremonial site is preserved and the remains that were removed earlier have been reinterred at Hickory Ground Town in a manner previously agreed to by traditional leaders in Oklahoma,” Poarch Band Tribal Council member and government affairs officer Robert McGhee said. “The remaining acreage located on the northern part of Hickory Ground will be preserved in a pristine, natural state for posterity.”

The Alabama tribe maintains that the project is in compliance with all applicable federal laws and does not violate the policies associated with the property’s status on the National Register of Historic Places. The land has been owned by the tribe since 1980 and is part of its reservation.

In a statement issued late Wednesday night through his attorney, George Thompson, the mekko of Hickory Grounds for 42 years, refuted McGhee’s comments and expressed his disappointment in the decision.

"From the beginning, it has been our stance that the remains should be put back where they were excavated,” he said. “The ceremonial ground remains sacred, so it is not a proper place for a casino. Hickory Ground needs to be restored to nature -- that's what we are striving for."

Principal Chief George Tiger echoed Thompson’s concerns while acknowledging that the two tribes are now back to the proverbial drawing board.

“This has been a sensitive topic,” he said. “As a nation, we have facilitated three meetings to try to see if we could come to some kind of conclusion. We knew this would be difficult going in. The biggest thing we see is that traditions as we know it here in Oklahoma are not the same as it is Alabama. We value our culture and how things have been handed down to us. Alabama is still in an educational process.

“It’s unfortunate that this is going to continue. They had to make a decision and we’re going to have to make one, too.”

If completed, the casino is scheduled to open in January 2014 with 2,500 gaming machines and will include a 20-story hotel with 285 rooms. It is expected to create an additional 1,000 jobs for the Wetumpka, Ala., area. The 3,000-citizen Poarch Band of Creek Indians also operates casinos in Montgomery, Ala., and Atmore, Ala.