Anyone traveling along Interstate 40 in eastern Oklahoma has likely seen signs advertising the Golden Pony Casino.

While not as large or luxurious as other tribal casinos, the Golden Pony is the sole gaming enterprise for Thlopthlocco Tribal Town (TTT), a small federally recognized Indian nation with headquarters in Okemah.

But over the past few weeks, an internal dispute over who is in charge of the tribe has triggered a near-shutdown of the tribe's government and forced the casino to shut its doors. One of the main issues raised by opposition factions is that the tribe's current leadership hasn't called an election in 18 years.

Court records documenting the fight describe a tense scene at an October meeting of the tribe's governing body, the Thlopthlocco Business Committee. During the

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