Indian gaming

IGRA Restored Lands/Restored Tribes Exception — Oklahoma Shawnee

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From NewsOK.com:

Zoning, land trust could cloud Shawnee casino plan

By Richard Mize
Real Estate Editor

 

Landless the Shawnee Tribe is, and landless it will remain for some time. The tribe faces legal obstacles in its aim to develop land along Interstate 35 as a hotel-casino attraction and tribal headquarters.

Gardner-Tanenbaum Group sold the 104 acres on the west side of I-35 between Britton Road and Wilshire Boulevard to investors who are working with the tribe to get it put into trust, a requirement before the tribe can develop it.

The land is zoned for industrial use, not entertainment or retail. Gardner-Tanenbaum marketed it for several years as a prime Interstate site for warehouses or distribution centers.

Getting the zoning changed shouldn’t be too hard since the tribe has been working with city planners as it looked for land in Oklahoma City, said Greg Pitcher, head of the tribe’s economic development arm.

“In talking to the city and choosing a site, we took all that into consideration,” Pitcher said, in an effort to locate a site that specifically would not be at cross purposes with the city’s goals. “We assume the city would not oppose” a zoning change request, he said.

City planning director John Dugan said Wednesday that his staff had had no discussions with tribal officials — that they knew of. He said city planning staff deal with many planning and zoning inquiries daily.

Dugan said that if the land is put in a trust, it might supersede local zoning. In that case, Pitcher said the tribe still would work closely with the city.

“Our interest in the beginning has been to sign an intergovernmental agreement that would exceed their guidelines,” Pitcher said. “We’re going to exceed any requirement the city has, in doing this.”

Pitcher said he could not outline the argument the Shawnee Tribe will make to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in seeking that the land be put in trust — because it’s confidential.

But, he said, the tribe only appears to be caught by conflicting law.

The federal law that restored the tribe by severing it from the Cherokee Nation in 2000 forbids it from developing land in any other tribes’ jurisdiction, he said. That made Oklahoma City attractive, since the city is within no tribe’s jurisdiction.

BIA rules generally state that to have land put in trust, a tribe must have a historical tie to it, and the Shawnee Tribe appears to have no historical tie to the land on I-35.

But Pitcher said the issues are much more complex than that, partly because the Shawnee Tribe, while restored, is landless, and partly because federal laws in Oklahoma surrounding Indian tribes, trust land and what they can do with it are different from every other part of the country.

Shinnecock Case Materials

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is a link to the opinion. Gaming Court Decision (October 31, 2007):
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Here is the tribe’s Shinnecock Trial Brief

and here is the tribe’s proposed findings of fact: Shinnecock Proposed Findings of Fact

Texas v. United States Materials (Corrected)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the briefs in the Texas v. United States case re: the Class III Procedures.

Brief of Appellant

United States Brief

Kickapoo Brief

Reply Brief

The opinion is here: Opinion

Rep. Miller: Dems & Detroit Killed Sault Tribe and BMIC Bills

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Port Huron Times Herald:

Your recent editorial about efforts to bring a casino to Port Huron shows the Times Herald is, at best, completely naive as to the politics behind this issue in Washington, D.C.

It is almost laughable that you are urging me to stand up to the bullying of my fellow Republicans to get this legislation passed. It is true some Republican members of Congress are opposed to any gaming expansion; however, as you may be aware, the Democrats control both the U.S. House and the Senate, every committee chairmanship and what legislation is heard in committee and on the floor.

***

Our bills were scheduled to be approved by the Natural Resources Committee. We were certain we had the necessary votes for passage, which is why it appears that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada called Speaker Nancy Pelosi and asked her to pull the bill. We are aware that Las Vegas Casino interests and other tribes that fear competition were heavily lobbying against our bills, as were Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his mother Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, members of Congress representing Detroit.

Huron Nottawaseppi Declaration of Reservation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Department of Interior took the Sackrider parcel into trust and declared it reservation land. Here’s the Federal Register notice.

The DC Circuit’s decision in CETAC v. Kempthorne cleared the way to this decision.  Here are those materials:

DC Circuit Opinion

Tribe’s Brief

Federal Brief

Michigan Amicus Brief

[CETAC’s briefs will be posted when I find them.]

Kansas v. Kempthorne Materials

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Recently, the Tenth Circuit decided Kansas v. Kempthorne, perhaps the final round of the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma’s bid to open a casino in Kansas City. After a decade of litigation, it appears the Nation has prevailed. What was interesting about the final product was that the 10th Circuit held that the State’s arguments were barred by the Quiet Title Act — because the Secretary had taken the land into trust prior to the filing of the State’s lawsuit, the QTA barred the suit.

Here’s the opinion: CA10 Opinion

Here’s the appellant brief (Kansas and three tribes): Appellant’s Opening Brief

Here’s the federal response brief: Federal Appellee Brief

Here’s the reply brief: Appellant’s Reply Brief

Ho-Chunk Nation v. Wisconsin — 7th Circuit Materials

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Seventh Circuit will soon decide Ho-Chunk Nation v. Wisconson. The dispute involves the Class III gaming compact signed by the parties. HCN stopped payment in violation of the compact’s revenue sharing provisions. Wisconsin seeks to compel arbitration to resolve the dispute.

The briefs are here:

Ho-Chunk’s Opening Brief: Appellant Brief

Wisconsin’s Brief: Appellee Brief

Ho-Chunk’s Reply Brief: Reply Brief

District Court Decision: March 9, 2007 Order

Representations of Michigan Indians in the Press

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Nick Reo’s recent post on online posts written in response to the Inland settlement reminded me of a dissertation by Scott G. Sochay, “Newspaper Images of Native Americans: Michigan Newspaper Coverage of Treaties and Compacts Affecting Indians in the Territory and State of Michigan” (1998). The diss. covers the 1819Treaty of Saginaw, the 1836 Treaty of Washington, and the 1993 gaming compacts.

It’s a large document, but you can download it here:  Sochay Dissertation

Port Huron Favors Bay Mills Settlement Act

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From the Port Huron Times Herald: “Little by little, the odds for a Port Huron casino are beginning to improve. First, there was the important support U.S. Sen. Carl Levin gave the effort earlier this year, a setback to Detroit. Motor City officials have tried to block Port Huron’s bid, a development they view as a threat to Detroit’s three casinos.

“With new support from U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, Port Huron’s casino effort marked another important sign of progress. The Rhode Island Democrat last week became a co-sponsor of H.R. 2176, legislation essential to Port Huron’s gambling facility.

“The bill seeks long-sought federal approval of a 2002 land trade between the state of Michigan and the Upper Peninsula’s Bay Mills Indian Community. The Chippewa band, based at Brimley, agreed to drop its claim to 110 acres of property at Charlotte Beach on the St. Marys River in exchange for the establishment of a new reservation on the property of Port Huron’s Thomas Edison Inn. The reservation would become the site of Port Huron’s Indian-run casino.”Despite his opposition to casino gambling, Gov. John Engler approved the deal. He did so largely because the Point Edward Charity Casino and Sarnia’s Hiawatha slot machines were drawing a substantial number of Americans who crossed the St. Clair River to gamble in Ontario. The Thomas Edison Inn casino would allow Port Huron to compete.”

Florida, the Seminoles, and the Class III Procedures

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

Florida threatens suit over Class III procedures

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said he will sue the Interior Department if it issues Class III procedures for the Seminole Tribe. McCollum cited a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that invalidated the Class III secretarial procedures. He said Interior can’t force a state to accept Class III gaming over the state’s objections. “They can put all they want in a letter to the governor, but I don’t think they can act on it,” McCollum told The Miami Herald. Interior says it will authorize the tribe to offer slot machines unless the state can reach a compact by November 15. The tribe and the state say they are near an agreement.

Get the Story:
State to sue feds if Seminole Tribe is given slots (The Miami Herald 11/8)