Michigan Indian

ICT on Gun Lake Band Fee to Trust Victory

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From ICT:

BRADLEY, Mich. – The Interior Department has formally taken 147 acres of land into trust for the Gun Lake Tribe, ending a decade of opposition from an anti-Indian casino group.

Interior’s action took place Jan. 30; nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition from Michigan Gaming Opposition (MichGO) challenging the interior’s authority to take land into trust.

A few days earlier, U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon tossed out a motion filed by former Wayland Township Trustee David Patchak, asking for a stay to stop the federal government from putting the tribe’s land into trust. Both actions were based on a highly controversial land into trust case – Carcieri vs. Narragansett – filed by the state of Rhode Island against the Narragansett Indian Tribe. Carcieri questions the interior secretary’s authority to take land into trust and whether land can be taken into trust for tribes that were not recognized in 1934, the year of the Indian Reorganization Act.

The two legal actions end any ambiguity about Gun Lake’s legal ability to move forward with its planned $200 million casino.

The tribe issued a press release with the exuberant headline “In land we trust.”
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“Underwater Stonehenge” in Grand Traverse Bay?

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Chicago Trib (via PhysOrg.com):

Forty feet below the surface of Lake Michigan in Grand Traverse Bay, a mysterious pattern of stones can be seen rising from an otherwise sandy half-mile of lake floor.

Likely the stones are a natural feature. But the possibility they are not has piqued the interest of archeologists, native tribes and state officials since underwater archeologist Mark Holley found the site in 2007 during a survey of the lake bottom.

The site recently has become something of an Internet sensation, thanks to a blogger who noticed an archeological paper on the topic and described the stones as “underwater Stonehenge.”

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UP Copper Mine Delayed by Bad Economy

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the AP:

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Construction of a proposed nickel and copper mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is being delayed because of poor market conditions, its parent company said Thursday.

But project manager Jon Cherry said the announcement by London-based Rio Tinto Group does not mean the Kennecott Eagle mine is off the table. Planning and preparations are continuing with the expectation that it eventually will be built, he said.

“Our offices in Michigan are remaining open and we are moving forward,” Cherry said. None of the 25 employees are being laid off, he said.

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Mich. COA Decides ICWA-Related Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The opinion in In the Matter of Coyle is here. The Court of Appeal concluded that ICWA’s tribal notice requirements did not apply. An excerpt:

Finally, respondent argues that petitioner should have notified the Cherokee tribe, and there was insufficient evidence that any tribe was notified. ***

In the present case, respondent stated during the preliminary hearing that her grandparents were Cherokee Indians. However, she never mentioned the Cherokee tribe again and never objected to references to the Chippewa Tribe of Sault Ste. Marie in several later hearings. Her statement that her father tried to get her grandparents’ tribe involved in 2003, followed by references to the Chippewa tribe trying to get involved in 2003, strongly indicated that her grandparents’ tribe was actually the Chippewa and she was mistaken when she called it Cherokee. Respondent did not give the trial court reason to believe her children might actually be members of a Cherokee tribe, in light of her repeated failure to object to references to the Chippewa and failure to request that another tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs be notified. Respondent also did not question petitioner’s assertions that the Chippewa tribe was contacted. Petitioner’s unchallenged assertions constitute sufficient evidence that notice occurred. The trial court did not commit any error requiring reversal.

Michigan Senate Bills 67-68: Capturing Child Support from Gaming Winnings

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Under these bills, every time a $1000 winner at a Michigan casino tries to collect, the casino must determine whether or not the winner owes money in the child support system.

2009-SIB-0067

2009-SIB-0068

Michigan Senate Approves Gun Lake Gaming Compact – What Next?

bnewland2 Comments

Cross-posted with American Indian Policy Blog.

The Michigan State Senate voted to approve the Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish (Gun Lake) Band of Potawatomi Indians and the State of Michigan. The Gun Lake Band reached agreement on this compact with Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2007, and the Michigan House of Representatives approved this agreement by resolution – consistent with its practice of approving gaming compacts by resolution – later that year.

Interestingly, the Senate acted today in a new legislative session, which began on January 14, 2009. The House of Representatives’ approval of this compact occurred in the previous legislative session. Will the Gun Lake Band return to the House of Representatives, which is under the same leadership as in 2007 when it originally approved the compact, for another approval in this legislative session? Or, will the Band make the argument that since both houses of the Legislature have given their approval, the compact is now in effect?

From Gongwer News Service:

Senate Approves Gun Lake Compact
On a voice vote the Senate has approved the state’s compact with the Gun Lake tribe of Pottawatomie Indians, effectively the last state hurdle towards the tribe building and opening a casino.

The Senate approved SR 11 without debate, though opponents outlined their objections afterwards. The chamber, which had held off acting on approving the compact reached with Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006, acted a few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to block the casino.

Saginaw Chippewa Officials Refuse to Participate in Isabella County Celebration Due to Dispute over Treaty Rights

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun:

The official flag of Isabella County acknowledges the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe as a significant part of the community.

Yet, the lack of recognition of Isabella Reservation boundaries by the county are “at the heart of the issue” for the Tribal government’s lack of official sponsorship or representation at the upcoming sesquicentennial celebrations.

“It is the heart of the whole issue,” Tribal Chief Fred Cantu Jr. said. “We really are standing to those treaties.

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Gun Lake Band Casino Financing Should Not Be Affected by Stations Casino’s Bankruptcy

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Vegas Review-Journal:

While Station Casinos plans to file for bankruptcy in March, a joint venture of the casino company plans to seek financing and break ground within weeks on a $200 million American Indian casino in Michigan.

Station Casinos spokeswoman Lori Nelson said its tribal gaming contracts wouldn’t be affected by the restructuring because contracts are held separately from the casino company’s financing structure.

Station Casinos announced late Tuesday its plans for prepackaged bankruptcy pending approval from investors holding $2.3 billion of the company’s $5.4 billion debt load.

Dennis Farrell Jr., a bond analyst for Wachovia Capital Markets, agreed the pending bankruptcy would not affect financing for the new casino.

“It will be financed on its own and Stations will help support the project,” said Farrell, adding that the company will collect a management fee once the casino opens.

***The Michigan casino was able to move ahead when a 10-year legal struggle by the Gun Lake Tribe, also known as the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, ended Jan. 30. At that time, the U.S. Department of Interior authorized the placing of 146 acres into trust. That move was made possible when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Jan. 21 not to hear an opposition group’s petition to block the casino.

The tribe’s gaming compact should be voted on in the Michigan Legislature in the next few weeks, tribe spokesman James Nye said.

He said the tribe plans to break ground on the casino in the next “several weeks.”

It would take nearly 16 months to convert an old 192,000-square-foot factory and warehouse into a casino with up to 2,500 slots machines, 75 table games, restaurants and a buffet.

Gun Lake Band’s Gaming Development Partners Seeking to Restructure

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Station Casinos:

Company Elects Not to Make $14.6 Million Interest Payment On Subordinated Notes As It Launches Plan

Preliminary Fourth Quarter Results Show a 19% Revenue Decline and an Operating Loss of Approximately $2 Million (excluding anticipated impairments); Company Confirms Cash Position of Approximately $350 Million

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Station Casinos, Inc. (“Station” or the “Company”) today announced that it is soliciting votes from its bondholders in favor of a restructuring plan that the Company’s equity sponsors and lead senior secured lenders have already agreed to support. As part of the restructuring plan, the Company and certain affiliates are offering the bondholders a combination of secured notes and cash in exchange for their outstanding bonds. The purpose of the restructuring plan is to significantly reduce the outstanding principal amount of indebtedness and cash interest expense of the Company.

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CMU to Host Panel on Indian Stereotypes in the Media (Monday)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Saginaw News:

MOUNT PLEASANT — A panel discussion on media stereotypes about American Indians will begin at 3:30 p.m. Monday in Central Michigan University’s Moore Hall Kiva. Admission is free and open to the public.

The panel includes Joe Sowmick, public relations director for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe; Frank Cloutier, a spokesman for the tribe; and Patricia Ecker, a reporter for The Morning Sun newspaper.