Sault Tribe worried about gaming plan with change in administration

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Artist's rendering of the proposed Kewadin Lansing Casino in Lansing, Michigan. Image from Sault Tribe

It looks like the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will have to wait until the next presidential administration for a decision on a long-awaited casino.

The tribe submitted a land-into-trust application for a casino in Lansing in June 2014. More than two years later, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Indian Affairs told Michigan Radio that it's still in the "initial stages of review."

The inaction has the tribe worried. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton hasn't offered any views about Indian gaming and Republican Donald Trump in the past has been openly hostile to tribal casinos.

“Of course, we do have concern about the potential impact of a change in administration,” tribal attorney John Wernet told Michigan Radio. “No matter how the election turns out, it would almost certainly mean even more delay in obtaining a decision while a new administration comes up to speed on it.”

The Kewadin Lansing Casino is in a unique situation because the site was acquired in connection with the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act. The tribe believes the BIA has no choice but to approve the application under the provisions of the law.

And if the BIA approves the application, the tribe believes the site will qualify for a casino. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, generally, bars gaming on land acquired after 1988 but Section 20 of the law provides an exception for land claim settlements.

In the history of IGRA, only three tribes -- the Seneca Nation in New York, the Wyandotte Nation in Kansas and the Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona -- have successfully opened casinos on land acquired in connection with a settlement. All three tribes had to overcome significant legal, regulatory and political hurdles for their projects.

Whoever wins the November 8 election will get to nominate a new Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the BIA as well as a new Secretary of the Interior at the Interior Department. Both officials play important roles in determining Indian gaming policy as well as approving casino projects.

Read More on the Story:
Long planned Lansing casino project remains in limbo (Michigan Radio 10/31)