Behind the billions are jobs: $2.4 billion in annual economic impact, 16,000 wage earners — that's the Chickasaw Nation's impact on the Oklahoma economy, a study says.

Behind the jobs? Growing diversity.

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More than gaming is fueling Chickasaw growth, according to the study, “Estimating the Oklahoma Economic Impact of the Chickasaw Nation,” by the Steven C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute at Oklahoma City University.

Gaming did account for 91.5 percent of Chickasaw Nation business revenue of $1.39 billion last year — from 17 gaming centers led by Riverwind Casino in Norman and WinStar World Casino in Thackerville.

But the tribe, based in Ada, also had interests in banking, health care and other professional services, led by Chickasaw Banc Holding Co., which operates Bank2 in Oklahoma City, and Chickasaw Nation Industries, which provides services for state, federal and private clients. Chickasaw businesses also include manufacturing, tourism and energy.

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Further, the tribe's direct payroll came to $318 million — $525 million counting spinoff jobs — and the Chickasaw Nation paid $119 million for goods and services from Oklahoma. Chickasaw Nation government spending came to $129 million in 2011, the study found.

Significant findings

The study's findings “are nothing short of impressive, and they show that the Chickasaw Nation's economic activities and enterprises strongly bolster the state economy,” said Kyle Dean, associate director and research economist at the OCU Meinders School of Business.

“Through its diversified enterprises, the study underscores that the Chickasaw Nation has become an integral part of Oklahoma's overall economy and is now among the top employers and purchasers of goods and services in the state.”

Many tribal interests

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Oklahoma Commerce Secretary Dave Lopez said the study drew together the Chickasaw Nation's diverse enterprises in a way that is hard to ignore. He spoke of the tribe as a single employer with numerous subsidiaries.

“For us, it puts a face on an employer that sometimes gets overlooked,” Lopez said, pointing out that the tribe and its business combined comprise one of the state's largest employers, with more than 10,000 direct employees working for enterprises that support another 6,000.

Those 10,000-plus Chickasaw Nation employees work in more than 60 different businesses, noted Bill Lance, CEO of the Chickasaw Nation's Division of Commerce.

“We are focused on growing our existing businesses and investing in new ventures with strong revenue and growth potential,” Lance said, mentioning investment in a high-tech medical device with a California company and expansion at Bedre, the Chickasaw-owned chocolate factory in Pauls Valley.

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‘Oklahoma a partner'

Lance said the study shines light on the breadth of Chickasaw involvement in the state economy.

“The key takeaway for me is the degree to which reinvestments in Oklahoma are paying dividends, particularly in how they continue to produce good jobs, most notably in rural Oklahoma. The unemployment level in Murray County is less than 3 percent, due in great measure to the investments we are making in several business enterprises,” he said. “Another key takeaway is the more than half a billion dollars in payroll revenue that serves as income for the state of Oklahoma and gives Chickasaw Nation and Oklahoma citizens enormous purchasing power when buying goods.

“Also, I think the report shows how both the Chickasaw Nation and the state of Oklahoma economically complement one another. It is important we both thrive. We consider the state of Oklahoma a partner, and we share a common goal to strengthen the economy and produce as many jobs as we can.”

Lawsuit not a factor

Lopez said the idea for OCU to study the economic impact of several tribes, not just the Chickasaws, came up last year at the annual Sovereignty Symposium, established 25 years ago by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to study American Indian legal issues. Asked whether the study was related to or in response to the controversy over water rights that has the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations suing the state in federal court, he said the study and lawsuit were unrelated.

“We're all looking forward to a positive resolution to those issues, but the study and the economic impact of the tribes are bigger than those involved in the water dispute,” Lopez said.

Long-term vision

Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby said the study should be seen as a snapshot snapped using a long lens.

“Long-term thinking guides our various business enterprises along with our goal to have a positive social and economic impact throughout the 13 counties comprising the Chickasaw Nation in south-central Oklahoma, as well as across all of Oklahoma,” Anoatubby said, pointing out a $150 million medical center in Ada as well as new health facilities in Ardmore and Tishomingo.

“Our economic activities are part of the economic fabric of the state, and the revenues generated through our various business enterprises allow us to invest in programs and services for the benefit of Chickasaw Nation and Oklahoma citizens,” he said.

A woman boxes chocolate at the Chickasaw-owned Bedre chocolate factory in Pauls Valley. unknown - PROVIDED BY CHICKASAW NATION

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Real estate editor Richard Mize has edited The Oklahoman's weekly residential real estate section and covered housing, commercial real estate, construction, development, finance and related business since 1999. From 1989 to 1999, he worked... Read more ›

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Three of the most powerful tribes in Oklahoma filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s governor on Tuesday, asking the court to help resolve a dispute over gambling at tribal casinos.

The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations want a federal judge to determine whether the state compacts that allow gambling exclusively at tribal casinos automatically renew on Jan. 1 for another 15-year term. The tribes contend all the conditions have been met for the compacts to renew.

“For some time, we have tried to establish meaningful intergovernmental engagement regarding our gaming compacts, but you have continued to reject our compacts’ plain terms,” Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin, Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby and Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton wrote in a joint letter to Stitt on Tuesday. “Recently, you have gone further, stating allegations against us and threats to our operations.”

Oklahoma’s new Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt contends the gaming compacts expire on Jan. 1 and that casino gambling after that date will be illegal. Stitt has signaled he wants to renegotiate the compacts to give the state a larger slice of revenue. An attempt by Stitt earlier in December to offer an extension of the compacts while negotiations continued was rejected by most of the tribes.

Stitt announced Tuesday that two of the 39 federally recognized tribes in the state — the Kialegee Tribal Town and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians — agreed to an eight-month extension of the compacts.

“The state of Oklahoma offered an extension, with no strings attached, to all tribes that operate casinos in the state, and my door continues to be open for more tribes to join who are worried about impending uncertainty,” Stitt said in a statement.

Stitt added that he was disappointed that most of the other tribes in the state rejected his previous offers for arbitration or a temporary extension.

The dispute between the governor and the tribes has grown contentious since Stitt first signaled in an op-ed this summer that he wanted to renegotiate the compacts. Last week, Stitt’s top adviser on tribal issues, Lisa Billy, resigned and accused the governor of creating an “unnecessary conflict” with the tribes.

Tribal officials have signaled they are open to renegotiating the rates of the compacts, but not until the governor acknowledges that the compacts renew on Jan. 1. Stitt has not conceded that point and maintains the compacts expire.

Under the existing compacts, approved by Oklahoma voters in 2004, tribes pay the state “exclusivity fees” between 4% and 10% on gambling revenue in exchange for the exclusive right to operate casinos. Those fees generated nearly $139 million for the state in the 2018 fiscal year, most of it earmarked for education, on roughly $2.3 billion in revenue from games covered under the compacts.

Since the compacts were approved, casino gambling has exploded in Oklahoma with more than 130 casinos dotting the state, ranging from gas station annexes to resort-style casinos, many of them in border communities. The Winstar World Casino in a rural part of the state’s Red River border with Texas includes massive hotel towers, more than a dozen restaurants and a 400,000-square-foot (37,161- square-meter-) casino floor billed as the largest in the world. Tour buses filled with gamblers from neighboring Texas routinely shuttle into the casino’s parking lot, which is also packed with cars sporting Texas license plates.