David Patchak’s long-term battle against the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, or Gun Lake Tribe, recently reached the end of the road. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled Congress acted within its authority when it passed legislation leading to the dismissal of Patchak’s lawsuit. Patchak, a non-Indian resident of Michigan, claimed he was harmed by the presence of the tribe’s Gun Lake Casino, which opened in February 2011 on trust land in Wayland, Michigan, three miles from Patchak’s property.
Patchak based his lawsuit on the 2009 Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, in which the court ruled the Bureau of Indian Affairs can place land in trust only for tribes that were “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934. The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band’s status wasn’t formalized until 1999.
However, the courts did not reach a decision on Patchak’s claim before the casino opened. But the Supreme Court, in Salazar v. Patchak, held that he could proceed with his lawsuit, even though the land already was placed in trust.
At that point, Congress passed the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act, which then-President Barack Obama signed into law in September 2014. It confirmed that the casino site was properly placed in trust, despite Patchak’s claims, and declared any lawsuits challenging the trust status of the tribe’s land “shall be promptly dismissed.”
Although Patchak won the Salazar ruling in 2012, he waited two years to return to court. He admitted he was seeking a monetary settlement from the tribe or the federal government, or both.
Patchak’s attorney, Scott E. Gant, had argued Congress exceeded its authority when it passed the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act, violating the separation-of-powers clause in the Constitution.
But six justices disagreed with Gant and said Congress had acted properly. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act “is a valid exercise of Congress’ legislative power. And because it changes the law, it does not infringe the judicial power.”
National Congress of American Indians President Jefferson Keel said,
“Congratulations to the Gun Lake Tribe for this important legal decision. All tribes need a land base as a homeland for their people, and the Supreme Court confirmed the Gun Lake Tribe’s base today. The tribe demonstrated great perseverance and we are heartened by this outcome.”
