In announcing his campaign for re-election, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Chairperson Aaron Payment said gaining approval of two off-reservation casinos in Michigan will remain a top priority.
The tribe filed land-trust applications in 2014 for the Kewadin Landing Casino and for a second casino in Huron Township, less than seven miles from the Detroit airport. “Several key projects hang in the balance including our Mandatory Trust petition with the U.S. Department of Interior for our downstate gaming expansion projects. Our people approved this project via referendum and I want to see it through,” Payment said.
The tribe contends, since the properties were acquired in connection with the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act, the Bureau of Indian Affairs must approve the applications. Payment noted an Arizona tribe’s application was approved on a similar mandatory trust acquisition. However, he said, that decision took 18 months.
The tribe hopes to build the Kewadin Lansing Casino on the site in downtown Lansing. The Huron Township site is less than 7 miles from the airport in Detroit.
