On November, 18, the Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ application to take into federal trust 166 acres in South Bend, Indiana. The tribe plans to build a 0 million entertainment complex on the site, which it purchased more than four years ago.
In a letter to tribal Chairman John Warren, BIA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Larry Roberts wrote, “The tribe’s journey to this point has been a difficult one. Our nation’s history with your tribe has not always been honorable. With this approval, we can further fulfill the intent of Congress to remedy the decades the tribe endured as the federal government shirked its trust and treaty responsibilities. Congratulations on the restoration of tribal homelands in Indiana.”
Roberts was alluding to the federal government’s refusal, for more than a century, to recognize the tribe, although U.S. and Pokagon leaders had official relations as sovereign nations. Congress restored the tribe’s status in 1994.
The tribe has proposed a casino with a 216,000 square foot gaming floor, plus an 18-story, 500-room hotel tower with 20,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, 24,000 square feet of offices and 48,000 square feet of casino support, as well as 4,000 parking spaces. The proposal also includes a tribal village providing housing and services.
The development will create 140 temporary jobs and more than 2,000 permanent positions. Tribal officials said the property will generate more than $600 million in annual revenue, including 2 percent for the city of South Bend and $5 million to local charities.
The Pokagons still need to negotiate a Class III gaming compact with the state of Indiana. That responsibility will fall to governor-elect Eric Holcomb who was elected on November 8, replacing vice president-elect Mike Pence. Ed Feigenbaum, publisher of the Indiana Gaming Insight newsletter, predicted, “The governor will be entering into compact talks in a no-win situation for the state, with both hands tied behind his back. If the governor asks for too much, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians can simply ask the Bureau of Indian Affairs to intervene on their behalf, and they are likely to be successful in being backed by the feds.”
No federally recognized Native American tribes reside in Indiana. The Pokagon Band is based in southwestern Michigan, where it operates three Four Winds casinos, including the flagship property near the Indiana border in New Buffalo, about 32 miles from the South Bend site. With 135,000 square feet of gaming area and a 400-room hotel, it’s one of the largest casinos in the U.S. Other Four Winds casinos are located in Hartford and Dowagiac.
The proposed Pokagon casino will be located less than five miles from the University of Notre Dame campus, which is a concern of the anti-casino group Citizens for a Better Michiana. Spokesman Jake Teshka said, “The immediate reaction is sadness for our community. We love the Pokagon people. We are just concerned about this casino. There may be some fight left in us.”
The Pokagon casino would replace Hammond’s Horseshoe as the largest in Indiana. The casino-resort would compete with Ameristar in East Chicago and Blue Chip in Michigan City. The Spectrum Gaming Group, in a 2014 report prepared for the Casino Association of Indiana, wrote, “Another casino in a state that is already facing increasingly fierce competition will significantly affect the investment climate and the competitive landscape. Additionally, an Indian casino would presumably be free from many of the rules and costs governing Indiana riverboats, which would create even more formidable competition.”
