Pokagon Band predicts win on land-into-trust appeal

Wednesday, May 25, 2005  

A lawsuit challenging the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians' right to acquire land for a casino will fail, Chairman John Miller said on Tuesday.

The tribe's acquisition a 675-acre reservation in New Buffalo has been cleared by a federal judge. But an anti-gaming group called Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos is taking the case to the appeals court.

"TOMAC will not win this appeal,” said Pokagon Chairman John Miller said. “They will lose it just like they have lost the past six rulings in the state and federal courts. Their scorched earth-style litigation will do nothing more than again delay our ability to become self-sufficient while denying 3,500 residents new jobs.”

The Bureau of Indian Affairs agreed to take the land into trust but the decision has been delayed for more than four years due to TOMAC's litigation.

Get the Story:
Appeal puts casino plan back in court (The Munster Times 5/25)