FRANKFORT — A group that claims to be Cherokee Indian descendants is seeking help from the Kentucky General Assembly to gain recognition as a tribe.

        Members of the Bear Creek Native American Tribe Inc., of Albany, Ky., say the designation will help them sell crafts, adopt American Indian orphans and educate schoolchildren on their heritage.

        But a lobbyist for the thoroughbred industry accused the group of angling for its own casino.

        Rep. Charles Siler, a Williamsburg Republican, introduced a resolution commending the 200-member tribe and directing the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission to establish guidelines for tribal recognition.

        Tribes must get federal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But state recognition can help a tribe gain federal support, said Robin Shields, a spokeswoman for the bureau.

        David Switzer, of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, said his organization opposes the measure because it interprets it as “the first step in gaining the recognition that leads to casino compacts.”

        Federal recognition confers sovereignty and eligibility for certain U.S. government programs. A federal law allows reservations to negotiate with states for casinos. Mr. Siler said the tribe has not mentioned casino gambling and “it's not even hinted at in their business plan.” He said concerns about gambling have dimmed its chances of passage.

        “I don't think it has much of a chance, but I've done what I told them I'd do,” he said, adding many of its members live in his district.

        Tribes must submit historical documents and other proof of their American Indian identity and must show that they have maintained a continuous community since at least 1900.

        The Beaver Creek tribe incorporated in 1997 and recently moved its headquarters from Winnfield, Tenn. Mary Neal, who said she is a Cherokee descendant and the aunt of current chief Ken Neal, said American Indians lived in the region more than 200 years ago.

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