Here are the materials in the consolidated cases, People v. Collins and People v. Mason (Mich. App.):
Hannahville Indian Community
Michigan Trial Court Dismisses State Criminal Prosecution of Non-Indians; Crime Occurred in Tribal Casino
Here are the materials so far available in People v. Collins and People v. Mason:
Order Dismissal — Collins and Mason
An appeal is underway, as we understand it.
Hannahville Proposes Casino in Romulus
From the Freep:
A group of American Indians from the Upper Peninsula again is proposing to build a casino development in Romulus that will include a 200-room hotel and retail space.
The Hannahville Indian Community has resubmitted its application to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Ken Meshigaud, chairman of the Hannahville community, said Monday at the Romulus City Council meeting.
Meshigaud told the council that he’s “more confident than ever” that the $300 million project will go through.
The previous administration in Washington, D.C., was against off-reservation gaming and last year dismissed 27 applications, including Hannahville’s, according to its attorney, Raj Wiener.
The 800-member community runs the Chip-In Island Resort and Casino in Menominee County in the Upper Peninsula.
Hannahville is asking the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to place a portion of a 27-acre site at Vining and Wick into trust — allowing tribal members to own the land and use it for gaming, as a sort of extension of their 5,500-acre reservation near Escanaba.
Past opponents of off-reservation gaming, who have included Gov. Jennifer Granholm, have expressed concern that such developments are far from the people who are supposed to be benefiting from them. Granholm’s spokeswoman, Liz Boyd, did not have an immediate comment Monday night.
According to Meshigaud, the proposed Romulus casino would draw as many as 6 million visitors annually, including many from nearby Detroit Metro Airport, and generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the Hannahville community.
Romulus Indian Gaming News
From the Romulus Roman:
Romulus officials hope a year-long moratorium regarding the expansion of Indian gaming that was put into place by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will be lifted, or at least more flexible, under a Barack Obama administration.
City officials met with a representative from the Hannahville Indians last week, and all involved said they felt they would receive more consideration for the tribal request to build a casino in Romulus.
“I think that once there’re more Democrats in Washington, and more people who are interested in helping Michigan, we will turn this around,” said Romulus Mayor Alan Lambert.
Romulus Casino Talk
From Indianz:
Officials in Romulus, Michigan, are still interested in hosting off-reservation casinos even after Congress killed a bill to authorize two tribal facilities.
Officials plan to meet with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to discuss reviving the casino. A deal with the Hannahville Indian Community could be in the works too. With Congress looking at ways to bail out the auto industry in Michigan and considering economic packages, officials say now is a good time to think about the casinos again.
Get the Story:
Romulus casinos are still a possibility (The Journal Newspapers 11/20)
ICT on FBI Drug Sweep at Hannahville
Romulus Casino Update
From the Journal Newspapers:
Romulus Mayor will pitch casino approval on Capitol Hill
A delegation of city officials hope elected officials will be swayed by testimony they plan to give regarding the impact a casino would have in Wayne County before the Legislature early in 2008.
Turtle Talk 