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Gun Lake Tribe eager to defend casino in Supreme Court challenge

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians owns and operates the Gun Lake Casino in Wayland, Michigan. Photo: Gun Lake Casino

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, is heading back to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend its casino from a long-running lawsuit.

The tribe opened the Gun Lake Casino in February 2011. A year later, the nation's highest court ruled that a non-Indian man could proceed with a lawsuit that questioned the status of the gaming site even though the land had already been placed in trust.

But before the case could be resolved, Congress stepped in with S.1603, the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act. The new law, in addition to confirming that the site of the casino is in trust, ordered the federal courts to “promptly dismiss” the lawsuit.

The battle isn't over, though, The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear Patchak v. Zinke and determine whether the law violates the U.S. Constitution.

"The tribe is eager to argue the merits of the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act before the U.S. Supreme Court," Chairman Scott Sprague said in a statement to MLive.

Sprague will welcome visitors to the casino on Wednesday as the tribe debuts a $76 million expansion of the facility.

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Decision:
Patchak v. Jewell (July 15, 2016)

U.S. Supreme Court Decision:
Patchak v. Jewell (June 18, 2012)

Prior D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Decision:
Patchak v. Salazar (January 21, 2011)