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BIA still working on potential Pokagon Band casino in Indiana

Wednesday, February 18, 2015


The Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan. Photo from Facebook
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The Bureau of Indian Affairs is expected to call a public hearing on a potential casino in Indiana for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

The tribe submitted a land-into-trust application to use 164 acres in the city of South Bend for housing, a community center and a potential casino. The BIA has been working on an environmental impact statement for the project for more than two years.

A spokesperson for the city said the BIA's hearing could take place this spring although the agency did not confirm that with WSBT-TV. The tribe also anticipates a hearing sometime in the future but was less specific about a time frame.

The tribe is based in Dowagiac, Michigan, but many tribal members live in the South Bend area, less than 25 miles away. The tribe has an office in South Bend.

The tribe operates three casinos in Michigan.

Get the Story:
Pokagon casino, housing proposal could move forward in coming weeks (WSBT 2/17) $P Federal Register Notice:
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) Related Stories:
Pokagon Band announces casino naming rights deal at stadium (09/06)
Pokagon Band playing down plans for casino on site in Indiana (11/02)
BIA urged to deny Pokagon Band casino application in Indiana (10/11)