The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians debuted its police substation in South Bend, Indiana, on November 20, 2017. Photo: Pokagon Band

Openings & Closings

Pokagon Band debuts police station to service site of new casino in Indiana

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians marked another milestone in the restoration of its homelands in Indiana with the opening of a police substation that will service the site of its forthcoming casino.

The 4,600 square-foot facility in South Bend is located on a 166-acre site that was placed in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs toward the end of the Obama administration. It will be staffed by eight police officers, two sergeants, a detective and a lieutenant, The South Bend Tribune reported.

"Flags raised, tribal police ready to serve in #SouthBend," the tribe wrote in a post on Twitter on Monday, when the station opened.

Tribal Police Honor Guard raising flags on our South Bend land for the first time pic.twitter.com/CJqlXo2xJz
— Pokagon Potawatomi (@Pokegnek) November 20, 2017

Tribal police officers will be able to enforce state and local laws under an agreement reached with St. Joseph County, The Tribune reported. County police will be able to enforce tribal laws, the paper said.

Additionally, the tribe has agreed to pay the county to house inmates. The state still needs to sign off on the plan, the paper reported.

The tribe will be opening the Four Winds Casino. on the site in early 2018. It's the first Indian gaming facility in Indiana.

The tribe operates three Four Winds facilities across the border in Michigan.

Read More on the Story:
Pokagon police substation opens in South Bend to serve Four Winds Casino site (The South Bend Tribune November 21, 2017)
Pokagon police substation opens in South Bend (WNDU November 20, 2017)
New Pokagon Tribal Police substation to open in South Bend (WSBT November 20, 2017)
Pokagon Police Substation Opening In South Bend Monday (WSJM November 16, 2017)

Federal Register Notices:
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana (November 29, 2016)
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Fee-to-Trust Transfer for Tribal Village and Casino, City of South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana (March 12, 2015)
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Pokagon Band Tribal Village Fee-to-Trust Acquisition and Casino Project in the City of South Bend, St. Joseph County, IN (August 24, 2012)