Observers are waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in State of Michigan vs. Bay Mills Indian Community. The High Court heard oral arguments in December. The case involves the Upper Peninsula tribe, which opened a casino in 2010 in Vanderbilt, Michigan—not on tribal lands– without permission from the state, which subsequently shut it down. The casino has remained closed as the case works its way through the courts.
The decision could have implications for tribal sovereignty and tribes across the nation, said tribal law expert Matthew Fletcher, director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University. It’s unlikely the High Court will determine whether or not the Bay Mills tribe can operate its Vanderbilt casino, Fletcher said. Probably, he said, the justices will issue a broad ruling that could dramatically alter how tribes are, or are not, protected from lawsuits. “They could cut any way they chose and issue an opinion that is relatively broad in regards to tribal sovereignty in this area,” Fletcher stated.
The Court also could write a more limited decision, Fletcher said. But he does not expect the justices to rule in favor of the Bay Mills tribe, which has argued it is immune from being sued.
