Little River Band of Ottawa Indians – Page 5

Intertribal Fight in Michigan over Little River Off-Rez Casino Proposal

July 5, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP — A top official of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is lashing back at other Indian tribes, accusing them of delaying a proposed Fruitport Township casino to choke off potential competition for their casinos.

“We understand other casino interests do not want competition, but don’t delay jobs for the Muskegon region. Don’t delay revenues to the state School Aid Fund,” said Robert Memberto, commerce director for the Little River Band, which wants to build a casino at the former Great Lakes Downs race track.

He accused the other tribes of “throwing all kinds of minutiae to delay, delay and delay this project.”

Memberto delivered his plea last week to the House Regulatory Reform Committee in Lansing, which is deciding on a resolution that would pave the way for a Fruitport Township casino.

Leaders from three other tribes — the Gun Lake Tribe, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi — testified against the Little River Band proposal. They claimed that state approval of a casino in Fruitport Township would break an agreement that tribes in Michigan would not pursue off-reservation gambling unless all the tribes agreed. They also suggested that the authority of taking land into trust for off-reservation casinos rests with the U.S. Department of Interior, not state leadership.

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DOI Letter re: Little River Band Off-Reservation Gaming Application

June 29, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Interesting reading: Bert Johnson from Paula Hart — Compact Letter 6.16.10.

Little River Withdraws Petition for Land into Trust, Will Likely Resubmit

June 28, 2010June 28, 2010Kate Fort

From 6/25/10 MIRS (subscription only):

Feds Nix Indian Casino Expansion, For Now
At least for the time being, the U.S. Department of the Interior delayed a Michigan Native American tribe’s plan to move forward with a casino project near the site of the now-defunct Great Lakes Downs Racetrack near Muskegon.

The Little River Band of Chippewa Indians wants to open a casino on the Great Lakes Downs location. The tribe was one of the four tribes that compacted with the state in 1998 for the right to operate class III (Las Vegas style) casinos. It currently operates a casino in Manistee.

Because the location is not within current tribal boundaries, there are several hurdles the tribe would need to clear in order to operate a casino at the Muskegon site. One hurdle has already been cleared. On March 19, Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM signed two amendments to the state’s compact with the Little River band that would let it build the new casino.

The Governor attached her signature after a deal was negotiated between her administration and the tribe.

“It would mean considerable revenues,” John WERNET, deputy legal counsel told MIRS today. “The good news would be that this would mean more dollars for the School Aid Fund (SAF). The bad news is that this would take years before it happened.”

The next step would be to have the Legislature approve one of the amendments. This is HCR 0054, sponsored by Rep. Doug BENNETT (D-Muskegon), which is currently before the House Regulatory Reform Committee.

Meanwhile, the other amendment to the compact was sent to the U.S. Department of Interior for approval. That’s where the project hit a roadblock.
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Hearing on Little River Band Off-Rez Gaming Compact Delayed

June 15, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

A hearing on the off-reservation casino sought by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians has been delayed.

The Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee held an initial hearing on the project on May 26. Additional hearings were scheduled but they were canceled.

“I don’t get why they’re holding this up,” Rep. Doug Bennett (D), who supports the casino, told The Muskegon Chronicle.

The new hearing probably won’t be held until the end of this month or in early July, an aide to Rep. Bert Johnson, the chairman of the committee, told the paper. The location hasn’t been determined either although it will be held somewhere in the Muskegon area.

The tribe wants to build the casino at a former racetrack in Fruitport Township, near Muskegon. The site is about 80 miles from the tribe’s headquarters but it’s within the tribe’s nine-county service area.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians and the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians oppose the project. They say the Little River Band violated the terms of the original Class III compact by not seeking approval from other tribes for an off-reservation casino.

Get the Story:

State House group to have casino proposal hearing here (The Muskegon Chronicle 6/15)

Little River Compact Amendment Stalled in House

May 16, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Muskegon Chronicle via Pechanga:

FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP — A month ago, a resolution by the state Legislature that would allow for a casino in Fruitport Township seemed to be destined for quick passage.

The resolution — allowing the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians to operate a casino at the former Great Lakes Downs racetrack site — has hit a snag in the state House of Representatives. A vote on the resolution has yet to be taken, a committee hearing concerning the resolution is planned for the coming weeks in Lansing and the House speaker — who is also a candidate for governor — is taking some heat from locals.

State Rep. Doug Bennett, D-Muskegon Township, and Fruitport Township Supervisor Brian Werschem are blaming House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, for the delay. Area lawmakers expect the resolution to pass if and when it reaches the House floor for a vote.

On the Senate side, Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores, said he will not oppose the resolution.

Bennett said typically the speaker sends resolutions directly to the House floor for a vote rather than referring them to a committee.

“There’s nobody holding it up but the speaker,” Bennett said.

“Andy Dillon is intentionally stonewalling this project,” Werschem said.

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Jim McClurken Book Talks in May

May 5, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Not often we promote Cooley Law programs, but it is an MSU Press book. 🙂

From here:

Please join us for a 2010 Michigan Notable Books program featuring Dr. James M. McClurken, author ofOur People, Our Journey: The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

This important and well-researched history of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians traces the tribe’s migration into Michigan’s Grand River Valley, its later settlement on reservations in Mason, Muskegon and Oceana counties, the difficult relationship between the tribe and the U.S. government and successful efforts to maintain the tribe’s unique cultural identity through the present day.

The book is available for purchase and signing the day of the event and at Cooley’s Lansing campus bookstore.

The events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit Cooley’s website at cooley.edu. Join us at any one of our four campuses on:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12
Grand Rapids, Noon
111 Commerce Avenue, SW

Lansing, 5 p.m.
Brennan Law Library
330 S. Washington Sq.

THURSDAY, MAY 13
Auburn Hills, Noon
2630 Featherstone

Ann Arbor, 5 p.m.
3475 Plymouth Rd.

Op/Ed Favoring Little River Band Gaming Compact

March 28, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Muskegon Chronicle via Pechanga:

It’s becoming more of a sure bet Muskegon County will see construction of a casino in its near future.

With the governor’s approval of amendments to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians’ tribal compact and Fruitport Township’s and Muskegon County’s approval of the 36-page Municipal Services Agreement last week, there are only a few hurdles left.

The Chronicle Editorial Board urges our state lawmakers to shepherd the plan to build at the former Great Lakes Downs site through the Legislature. All three — representatives Mary Valentine, D-Norton Shores, and Doug Bennett, D-Muskegon Twp., and Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores — have indicated they will support the move that could eventually create up to 1,100 new jobs in Muskegon County.

The Legislature must agree with Gov. Granholm’s approval of a change in the tribal compact and the Little River Band needs approvals from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior. The tribe is expected to ask that 60 acres of its 233-acre site in Fruitport Township be placed in a “trust” for casino development.

The Editorial Board also urges Congressman Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, and U.S. senators Carl Levin, D-Detroit and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing to help this proposal sail through the approval process in Washington, D.C.

Federal lawmakers also should push highway officials to fund construction of an interchange at I-96 and Sternberg. The development of the interchange will be key to the continued growth of tourism and retail businesses in that area. Muskegon County has waged a 25-year campaign for the improvement and it has waited long enough.

With the construction of the casino and proper highway access, Muskegon County could become a year-round tourism destination, a definite boost in efforts to diversify the area economy and create permanent jobs in business serving casino visitors.

However, the Editorial Board continues to draw the line against a casino in downtown Muskegon or multiple casinos in the county.

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News Coverage of Little River Band Casino Agreement for Muskegon

March 20, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Ludington Daily News via Pechanga:

FRUITPORT TWP. — The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and Gov. Jennifer Granholm have reached an agreement helping clear the way for development of a gaming facility just outside of Muskegon, the tribe announced Friday.

Granholm and the tribal government have reached agreement on two compact amendments that bring the tribe one step closer to building the casino on the site of the former Great Lakes Downs Racetrack, property the tribe now owns. The amendments will allow the tribe to go forward with the process of placing a small portion of the property into trust with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

A third compact amendment is proceeding to both houses of the Michigan Legislature regarding changing the definition of “Eligible Indian Lands” under section 2 (B) (1). Both houses will need to approve this additional amendment in order for the project to move forward. The first two amendments did not require legislative approval.

Granholm encouraged the legislature to approve the remaining compact amendment, the press release stated.

“In short, neither the state nor the local units of government in Muskegon County will realize the benefit of the additional revenue sharing and the attendant economic development represented by this project unless the Legislature adopts the necessary resolutions concurring in the Third Amendment,” she stated, adding, the project is, “…in the best interests of the state and the public …”

Tribal Ogema Larry Romanelli, a Muskegon area resident, said, “Muskegon has been hard hit in recent years and I am so pleased that our tribe has the opportunity to provide some hope and help to all of our people, tribal and non-tribal, at this time.”

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Detroit News on U-M Decision to Repatriate Culturally Unidentifiable Remains

March 17, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Detroit News:

The University of Michigan will work with tribes on the disposition of unidentified Native American human remains held by the university to comply with newly released federal rules.

The National Park Service on Monday announced the rule to establish a process to repatriate remains in museums or on exhibit which have not been culturally affiliated with a tribe.

The rules, which go into effect May 14, require universities and federal agencies with unidentified remains in their collections to work with tribes that lived in the areas where the remains were exhumed.

There are more than 124,000 unidentified Native American human remains in the United States, including some held by U-M’s Museum of Anthropology.

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