Last month a federal court judge heard arguments in the case of Michigan versus the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which wants to build a 5 million Kewadin Casino in Lansing. Tribal attorney John Wernet said he expects a decision soon, adding, “We remain confident of our underlying legal theory and right of the tribe to pursue the project.”
In June 2014 the tribe applied to have taken into federal trust land that was purchased from the city of Lansing with funds appropriated by Congress for the purpose of benefiting certain Michigan tribes. Under the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act, any land purchased with these funds must be held in trust by the government. That is the tribe’s central argument to allow it to build a Class III gaming reservation on the off-reservation tract.
Previously, courts held that a trust request under MILCSA would violate the state-tribe compact, requiring a revenue-sharing agreement with other tribes. But the 2008 revision of Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows gaming on tribal lands acquired after 1988 with land claim settlements.
If the court finds for the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, it would be the third tribe to use the exception. The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma so far is the first and only tribe to have used it. If the Tohono O’odham Nation opens its West Valley Resort in Glendale, Arizona later this year, it would be the second.
