"By this time, everyone with an interest in gaming, is aware of last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision rendered in the case of Match-EBe- Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak. The Tribe is commonly known as the "Gun Lake Band" and will be so known for the purposes of this article.

What is known is that the decision almost certainly opens the door to what will be many legal challenges to trust acceptances. Moreover, these cases will be prosecuted pursuant to the APA, a factor which really complicates the tribal situation since the APA provides a six year period of time for filing legal challenges. This is critical, since previous trust challenges had to be filed within 30 days under the applicable federal regulations, meaning that tribes almost always had legal finality on their land status in a very short period of time. With the new six-year challenge period defined, the landscape for development on new trust lands has shifted, and this could have profound impact on Indian casino projects since opponents could potentially delay development merely by announcing that legal challenges will be filed. If tribes proceed with development in the face of this threat, they run the risk of ultimately having their lands taken out of trust, which the Patchak Court noted was the ultimate issue confronting the parties."

Get the Story:
Dennis J. Whittlesey: The Gun Lake Decision: What Does It Mean For Indian Gaming? (Mondaq 7/4)
Username: indianz@indianz.com. Password: indianz

Supreme Court Decision:
Salazar v. Patchak (June 18, 2012)

Related Stories:
Turtle Talk: Ironies of the Supreme Court's land-into-trust ruling (06/27)