BY JOYCE GODWIN

HERALD DEMOCRAT

The second coming of the Choctaw tribe started in 1975 with a cattle ranch near Tuskahoma, Okla.

Traveling the road

Pyle said the tribes had been done away with in Oklahoma for more than 60 years. "From statehood, from about 1907 to 1972, they (the U.S. government) tried to do away with the tribes, basically, and break them up -- wouldn't allow your language to be spoken, and a lot of different things," Pyle said. "And that was just the way it was. Then it kind of reversed in the early '70s. Laws came into effect." Pyle said it wasn't long before the tribes were reinstated and "we reinstated our constitution."

In 1975, the tribe started its first business.

"You have to take one step at a time, and that is what we did. Pyle said. "We started out with a cattle ranch. A few years later, they were able to take on other businesses, and today, the tribe has at least six streams of revenue from businesses that include casinos, manufacturing plants, travel plaza and international contracting.

Pyle said, in 1982 he went to work full time with the Choctaw Nation as personnel director. "When I started, we had less than 100 employees," Pyle said. "There were 2,000 when I became assistant chief (in 1983), and today we have about 8,000. Jobs are really the big thing we see as the catalyst in Southeast Oklahoma."

Helping the community

"If you don't have good infrastructure, it's hard to attract new businesses, so we work a lot with progressive towns in Southeast Oklahoma to try to really bring that up," he said. "The biggest thing we see is, if you have really good jobs, the poverty rate will go down, your children will have nice clothes to go to school in, mom and dad will have a nicer car. Many, many good things happen when there are good jobs."

Pyle said the Choctaw Nation also donates annually to area law enforcement agencies and fire departments of surrounding communities. "We actually donate $5,000 each year to each sheriff's department in our district. That's 12 of them," Pyle said. "The rural fire departments have very few friends. They have some money coming in but we started donating as we became more successful in the businesses. The most rural is where most of our Choctaws live, so its' imperative that we help.

"Our housing authority builds homes, and if you don't have any fire departments, they are going to burn down," he said. "So we actually donate to them each year a one-time donation of about $7,500 per for the fire department." Pyle said the tribe wants to help spread the money around and bring Southeastern Oklahoma up to the level it should be.

New hotel-casino

About the newest venture for the Choctaw Nation, its new resort hotel and casino, the chief said they are all excited to be close to seeing it open. "It's been a long time coming," Pyle said.

It will include a parking garage with 2,700 parking spots. He said the safety of customers is important as well as convenience, so a guest will be able to walk through covered, well-lit walkways from the car to the hotel. There are 300,000 square feet of gaming area and hotel.

"It has been a surprise how well the casino has been received," Pyle said. "We built this one (the current casino) and we put 1,500 machines in. Everything from the food and air conditioning was designed based on the 1,500. We didn't know there would be so much interest, so we have had some overcrowding and oversmoked stuff." He said these are only some of the problems that will be solved in the new facility.

When the ribbon is cut for the new hotel and casino, the Choctaw Nation will have no debt for this building or any other venture it has -- because they don't believe in it. "We stay out of debt -- we don't borrow the money."