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Pokagon Band predicts win on land-into-trust appeal

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

A lawsuit challenging the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians' right to acquire land for a casino will fail, Chairman John Miller said on Tuesday.

The tribe's acquisition a 675-acre reservation in New Buffalo has been cleared by a federal judge. But an anti-gaming group called Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos is taking the case to the appeals court.

"TOMAC will not win this appeal,� said Pokagon Chairman John Miller said. �They will lose it just like they have lost the past six rulings in the state and federal courts. Their scorched earth-style litigation will do nothing more than again delay our ability to become self-sufficient while denying 3,500 residents new jobs.�

The Bureau of Indian Affairs agreed to take the land into trust but the decision has been delayed for more than four years due to TOMAC's litigation.

Get the Story:
Appeal puts casino plan back in court (The Munster Times 5/25)