Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians

Nottawaseppi Huron Band Tax Dispute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi says it won’t pay local taxes until the Michigan Tax Tribunal resolves its case.

The tribe says it is owed a refund on more than $90,000 in township, school, county and state taxes. The tribe says it shouldn’t pay because the Pine Creek Reservation is held in trust. But Athens Township says the tribe owes the money because the reservation wasn’t taken into trust until the summer of 2008. The treasurer says the bill comes to $112,770 for 2008. The tribe won federal recognition in 199.

Get the Story:
Tribe’s taxes go unpaid as dispute continues (The Battle Creek Enquirer 1/12)

Related Stories:
Nottawaseppi Huron Band negotiates service deal (1/7)

Nottawaseppi Huron Band Casino Progress

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:


The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians is banking on a casino to create new opportunities for the Michigan tribe.

Nearly half of the adult members of the tribe are unemployed. But some are now finding work on the Pine Creek Reservation with the construction of the FireKeepers Casino. “I thank the Creator for the jobs,” Bill Osborn, who was out of work until construction started in May, told The Battle Creek Enquirer. “I think the opportunities in the future are going to be immense.” The $300 million, 236,000 square-foot casino is set to open in the summer of 2009. With $100 million in annual revenue, the tribe plans to improve governmental programs and services for its 850 members. The tribe has already built housing to lure more people back to the reservation. Only about 35 people live there right now. In related news, the tribe is offering a $250 reward for information about the theft of copper wiring from from the casino construction site.

Get the Story:
Tribe: Profits will provide programs for members (The Battle Creek Enquirer 8/17)
Casino will bring change (The Battle Creek Enquirer 8/17)
Neighbors differ on FireKeepers (The Battle Creek Enquirer 8/17)
Tribe reports copper theft at casino (The Battle Creek Enquirer 8/16)

Casinos close to cashing in

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by Chris Killian | Special to the Gazette

Saturday February 09, 2008, 6:32 PM

Two area gambling hubs could open by late next year, pending court ruling

Mark Bugnaski / GazetteKristine Albers checks new decks of cards at The Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo in August. By mid-to-late 2009, southwest Michigan could have two more casinos.

Two Native American casinos could be open in Southwest Michigan by the middle to end of next year, bringing with them an estimated 3,000 casino jobs, another 2,600 spin-off jobs and the potential for millions of dollars in annual local-revenue sharing. They would become the 22nd and 23rd casinos in the state, and both would be within an hour’s drive of Kalamazoo.Ground could be broken as soon as this spring on both the FireKeepers Casino in Emmett Township, just east of Battle Creek, and the Gun Lake Casino, in Wayland Township, about 35 miles north of Kalamazoo on U.S. 131.

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