Casino Stalker | Litigation

Sault Tribe eyes speedy approval for gaming land applications

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Artist's rendering of the proposed Kewadin Lansing Casino. Image from Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians says the Obama administration could approve its land-into-trust applications within a matter of weeks but opponents in Michigan are gearing up for a fight.

The tribe submitted applications for casino sites in Lansing and Huron Charter Township. The tribe previously announced the $245 million Kewadin Lansing Casino and Chairman Aaron Payment described Huron as the "perfect casino location."

The tribe purchased the sites with funds from the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1997. The law mandates that the Bureau of Indian Affairs place the land in trust.

"The law is clear: the [Interior] Secretary is required to accept these parcels in trust," Payment said in a press release. "It is a clear, plain-language legal argument. Our tribe is within federal law and our legal rights to pursue these opportunities to create thousands of new jobs and generate millions of dollars in new revenues that will benefit our members, the people of Lansing, public school students in Lansing, the people of Huron Township, and the entire state."

The announcement sparked a fresh threat from Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. But he cannot sue the tribe directly as a result of the May 27 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community.

"State and federal laws do not permit tribes to open casinos in every corner of the state and the Sault Tribe has now violated its gaming compact with the state twice," Schuette's office said in a statement to WLNS. "We will use every tool at our disposal to stop illegal off-reservation gambling."

Schuette was suing the tribe for merely proposing the Lansing casino. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe didn't waive its sovereign immunity but the Supreme Court's decision in Bay Mills indicated that the state might be able to sue individual tribal officials like Payment.

"The attorney general and other parties, including the owners of other casinos, have threatened to do whatever it takes to stop our tribe from exercising our legal rights, which means they appear willing to block jobs and revenues for Michigan communities that could benefit from these projects," Payment said in the press release. "We are hopeful the attorney general will drop any effort to impose additional long delays on projects that will benefit the entire state."

The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians and Saginaw Chippewa Tribe have already voiced opposition to the Sault Tribe's plans. Both operate gaming facilities that could be impacted by the Lansing casino.

The Huron casino, meanwhile, poses a threat to commercial casinos in Detroit. The site is off a major interstate and is less than 7 miles from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.