"The quest on Capitol Hill by two Upper Peninsula tribes to gain downstate land for casinos is grandly described by the Washington Post as "a fierce multimillion lobbying battle of a scale not seen since fall of Jack Abramoff" -- imprisoned defrauder of American Indians and others.

But U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, whose district includes homelands of two of the combatants -- the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians -- calls the description "highly overstated." In a phone interview, he said the legislation, approved by the House Natural Resources Committee last week, is not so much a "titanic battle" on the national scene as it is "a Michigan delegation food fight" among members "trying to protect their own turf."

Two top delegation titans are on opposite sides of the legislation that would settle century-old land claims by allowing casinos in Romulus and Port Huron in exchange for the settling of 110 acres of land claims around Charlotte Beach in the Upper Peninsula.

House Dean John Dingell, D-Dearborn, powerful chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and mentor of Stupak, who heads the committee's high-visibility Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is in favor of the legislation. Dingell, whose district includes Romulus, insists that the issue is about a legitimate land claim.

Among those allied with Democrats Stupak and Dingell on this issue is Rep. Candice Miller, R-Macomb County, who represents Port Huron. (Now a faint blip on the crystal ball, but Miller and Stupak are potential opposing contenders for governor in 2010.)

In committee testimony on the legislation earlier this month, Miller said: "Much of the opposition is based purely on greed. Now that the city of Detroit has theirs, they don't want anyone else to have one.""

Get the Story:
George Weeks: Clash over Indian casinos (The Traverse City Record-Eagle 2/17)