Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recently said neither he nor his administration can legally stop the Ho-Chunk Nation’s million expansion at its Ho-Chunk Wittenberg casino in northwest of Green Bay. But the Stockbridge-Munsee and Menominee tribes claim allowing the Ho-Chunk casino to expand would not comply with Walker’s previously established criteria—which he used to block the Menominee’s proposed casino in Kenosha. Those tribes both operate casinos near the proposed Ho-Chunk expansion.
The Ho-Chunk and Walker said the governor does not have the authority to reverse the conditions of the 2003 compact between the Ho-Chunk and then-Governor Jim Doyle, which gave the tribe the option to expand its Wittenberg facility. However, in January 2015, Walker turned down the Menominee’s request to open an off-reservation casino in Kenosha, partly due to the Ho-Chunk’s objection to the plan and the governor’s own requirement that all tribes agree to gambling expansion in the state. “We’d look and apply the same standards for anything that required approval. For me, I’d apply the same standards that applied to the site in Kenosha,” Walker said.
But in the current situation, Walker said, “It doesn’t require any approval from me or the administration. It was approved in the compact that Jim Doyle settled with the Ho-Chunk years ago. They chose to invoke it now. But I have legally no authority to block that.”
Stockbridge-Munsee President Shannon Holsey and General Counsel Dennis Puzz expressed concern that the Walker administration doesn’t understand the Ho-Chunk Wittenberg expansion could lead to more expansions by the Ho-Chunk, which has no official reservation boundaries in the state, as well as the Oneida and St. Croix. Those three tribes have a total of nine other secondary casinos that also could be expanded if the state lets the Wittenberg expansion move forward. “We find it hard to believe that Governor Walker would endorse such a broad reinterpretation of state compact language given the profound consequences for future gaming expansions in Wisconsin. All we are seeking is a fair resolution that protects the validity of tribal-state compacts” Holsey said.
In a letter to state Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel, Menominee Tribe chairwoman Joan Delabreau wrote, “Failure to act does a disservice to tribes in the state that operate gaming facilities in conformance with federal law and their compacts with the state.”
Walker spokesman Steve Michels said the Wittenberg and Kenosha situations were “completely different. The question in the Kenosha casino proposal was whether private land would be taken into trust by the United States for the Menominee so a tribal casino could be constructed on that land. In such a case, the governor has broad authority to approve or deny taking the private land into trust. In this case, the question is whether the Ho-Chunk Nation’s expansion on the parcel violates the provisions of the Ho-Chunk Nation’s compact. It does not.”
Another Walker spokesman, Tom Evenson, added, “The Menominee were required to obtain Governor Walker’s approval as he had the authority over their off-reservation casino proposal. This matter is not an off-reservation casino proposal.”
The Ho-Chunk broke ground on the Wittenberg expansion last month. It will feature an 86-room hotel, hundreds of new slot machines, table games and a full restaurant, said tribal spokesman Collin Price. He said the tribe is complying with both federal Indian gambling laws and its agreement with the state. “We’re definitely within the compact,” Price said.
Just to make sure the Ho-Chunk are following the rules, state Senator Rob Cowles and state Rep. Gary Tauchen recently wrote to Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel, asking him to review the issues. Cowles said, “This seems very unfair to me. The Stockbridge-Munsee are a small tribe and the Ho-Chunk are already quite well-to-do. Are they going to be sharing with their poorer brethren? No.”
