The Gun Lake Casino in Wayland, Michigan. Photo from Google+
The House Natural Resources Committee approved S.1603, the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act, at an open markup session on Wednesday. The bill ensures that land already held in trust for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, can't be challenged in federal court. It protects the Gun Lake Casino from an ongoing lawsuit and any future litigation. S.1603 "simply affirms the land taken into trust for the Gun Lake Tribe in Michigan is Indian land and is rightfully held in trust," Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) said at the markup. "The bill is needed in order to protect approximately 1,000 jobs." The bill arose out of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Salazar v. Patchak. By an 8-1 vote, the justices held that the tribe's land-into-trust application can be challenged even though it has already been finalized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The case remains in the federal court system. David Patchak, the non-Indian party, hopes to show that the BIA lacked authority to approve the land-into-trust application as a result of the Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. In Carcieri, the justices held that the BIA can only approve land-into-trust applications for tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" as of 1934. The Gun Lake Tribe didn't gain formal recognition until 1999 so the 7-2 ruling leaves its casino in jeopardy even though its been operating and contributing to the local and state economy for more than four years. The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent on June 19. The Obama administration supports the measure and it appears poised for passage in the House. But the gaming aspect has already drawn negative attention. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) threatened to add a provision that blocks the controversial Tohono O'odham Nation off-reservation casino and spoke at length about the issue during the markup. He ended up withdrawing the amendment and the bill passed by a voice vote. Committee Notice:
Markup on H.J. Res 120, H.R. 361, H.R. 3006, H.R. 3109, H.R. 4119, H.R. 4182, H.R. 4867, H.R. 5062, H.R. 5069, H.R. 5203, H.R. 5204, H.R. 5205, S. 311, S. 354, S. 476, and S. 1603 (July 30, 2014) Supreme Court Decisions:
Salazar v. Patchak | Carcieri v. Salazar Supreme Court Oral Arguments:
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