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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2002

A federal appeals court on Friday affirmed the dismissal of a Michigan tribe's gaming suit.

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Band, sued the state of Michigan to negotiate for a casino compact. A federal judge, however, threw out the case because the tribe lacks "Indian lands" under Indian gaming law.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal. "If the Indian tribe does not have any land in the State that can be used for a casino, why should the State waste its time negotiating about such a casino?" wrote Circuit Judge Gilbert S. Merritt for the majority.

The tribe is the only one in Michigan without a Class III casino.

Get the Case:
MATCH-E-BE-NASH-SHE-WISH BAND OF POTTAWATOMI INDIANS v. ENGLER, No. 01-1624 (6th Cir. September 20, 2002)

Relevant Links:
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians - http://www.mbpi.org