The Menominee Nation of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday to prevent the Bush administration from rejecting its proposed off-reservation casino.

In October, the tribe asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to halt work on the project. Officials feared Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne would kill it in his final weeks in office.

The request to hold off, however, was denied last week, so the tribe decided to go to court. “Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne tried in January to rewrite the rules to fit his own personal views against off-Reservation gaming,” Chairwoman Lisa Waukau said in a statement. "After we showed how our project fit even his new January rules, we learned from Secretary Kempthorne's people that it didn't matter, he was going to reject us anyway. That’s illegal, unfair and unacceptable.”

Since Kempthorne joined the Bush administration, the Interior Department has adopted policies -- without tribal consultation -- to make it harder for tribes to open casinos away from existing reservations. In January, the BIA adopted a "guidance memorandum" that raises the bar for off-reservation land-into-trust applications.

Prior to that, the BIA changed the way in which off-reservation applications are reviewed in a way that downplays local support of such projects. Before Kempthorne came on board, the BIA decided to reject gaming compacts that refer to land that is not yet held in trust.

Get the Story:
Menominee tribe sues to keep casino hopes alive (The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 11/8)
Menominee sues over Kenosha casino (The Daily Kenoshan 11/7)
Tribe sues to suspend review of Kenosha casino (The Business Journal of Milwaukee 11/7)