After weeks of silence, the political leader of the Kialegee Tribal Town spoke out Friday regarding the tribe's involvement in the construction of the controversial Red Clay Casino in Broken Arrow.

Tiger Hobia, whose title with the tribe is "Mekko" or king, sat down with KRMG at the tribe's administrative building in Wetumka, along with Vicki Sousa, an attorney representing the Kialegee Tribal Town.

They said their goal is economic development for the tribe, and that "the casino is not their ultimate goal for economic development," Sousa said.

The Kialegee claim tribal sovereignty on land at 111th St. and 129th E. Ave. and began moving dirt to build the casino there last month.

Until Friday, the tribe had declined to make any public comment about the project, despite strident and vocal political opposition to the casino by residents of Broken Arrow.

When asked why they had waited to come forward, the Mekko said the tribe had never intended the casino to become a political issue.

"This came on us as a big surprise, as far as opposition," he said.

He said they had notified all the appropriate agencies at the local, state, and federal level about their plans, and were frankly extremely surprised by the political backlash which developed.

"We notified those individuals and agencies we needed to notify," Sousa said. "We didn't think about how that information was going to get disseminated amongst the community. Hindsight's 20-20, maybe we should have done some communication with the area community there."

KRMG asked Hobia to respond to statements made by Muscogoee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief George Tiger in opposition to the casino.

"George Tiger and I, we have great respect for each other," he replied. "I understand what he's going through... hopefully we can resolve this and go in with a better overview of everything."

He said he plans to sit down with Tiger in the near future.

He and Sousa also discussed the tribe's plans for future economic development. They said the casino is not the ends, but the means to their ultimate goal of providing a better life for the tribe's members.

They hope to use the money from the casino for education, housing, health, and cultural preservation. They also hope to be able one day to help Kialegee open and run their own businesses.

And, they hope the citizens of Broken Arrow will come to know them as neighbors.