The Bureau of Indian Affairs recently announced it has approved the Carter Hotel property in downtown Duluth, Minnesota to be placed into federal trust for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The tribe purchased the circa 1929 hotel in December 2010 with the intention of adding it to its Fond du Luth Casino next door.
Tribal Chairman Wally Dupuis said the trust status means the property may be used for a casino, however, he stated, “I’m not prepared to talk about that at all.” Tribal Secretary/Treasurer Ferdinand Martineau said the tribe intends to tear down the crumbling structure. “That’s probably one of the first things we will do once it’s put into trust,” he said.
The BIA decision is a victory for the tribe over Duluth officials, who have opposed expansion of Native American holdings in the downtown area since trust properties are removed from property tax rolls and are exempt from much local regulation.
The city of Duluth sued the tribe after it bought the hotel and tried to combine it with its Fond du Luth casino. City officials said the tribe did not have the authority to enlarge its sovereign land holdings downtown without their consent. But U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson dismissed the city’s lawsuit in December 2014. The next step was the BIA’s recent move to place the hotel in trust.
The tribe and the city have had strained relations since the tribe in 2009 ended a revenue-sharing agreement giving the city $6 million annually. The National Indian Gaming Commission supported the tribe’s decision. That launched several lawsuits, most of which ended in favor of the tribe.
The hotel is located within the Duluth Commercial Historic District, an area listed in the National Register of Historic Places. But Sarah Beimers, manager of government programs said, “So it’s part of the district, but that doesn’t protect anything from being demolished.”
