Here is the order:
DCT Preliminary Injunction Order
Bay Mills has until noon to close its casino.
off-reservation gaming
Saginaw Chippewa Issues Release Opposing BMIC Vanderbilt Casino
Here is the press release:
The Tribal Council of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has taken a firm position against the Bay Mills attempt to push their way into Vanderbilt MI with class three gaming. “We have a long history of supporting the intent of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in honoring “On Reservation” gaming provisions within that act” stated Tribal Chief Dennis V. Kequom Sr. For many years the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has teamed with others who are like minded on the issue of off reservation gaming.
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is committed to educate the public and elected officials of the negative implications to “Off reservation” gaming. If Bay Mills is allowed to conduct “Off Reservation” gaming it would open the flood gates to unlimited casino development saturating an already stressed market. The Federal Government rejects casino compacts unless a tribe has trust land. Vanderbilt is not in trust according to the Department of the Interior. The Tribe will continue to closely monitor Bay Mills activities and continue with its efforts to inform the public at large about the negative implications of the Bay Mills Indian community and their efforts elsewhere in the State.
Bay Mills Indian Community on the Move Again: Port Huron Land Deal Completed Yesterday
MIRS: Casino Catches Officials Off Guard
Without any of the standard federal or state approvals, the Bay Mills Tribe opened a new casino today near Vanderbilt off Interstate 75 in the Northern Lower Peninsula.
The 40-slot machine facility is located in a renovated Project Nature Welcome Center. Tribal members are familiar with the Vanderbilt area as they have been hunting elk in the region since 2007, exercising off-reservation treaty rights established with the 2007 Inland Consent Decree.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a long time,” said Bay Mills Chairman Jeff PARKER.
Apparently the tribe is testing a legal theory that, if it were to hold up, could open the floodgates for establishing tribal casinos without having to worry about the red tape that usually delays such projects for years. Some observers claim it could ultimately affect the status of an off-reservation site the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians own at Pinnacle Racetrack in Romulus.
Bay Mills and the Soo tribe were once a single tribe.
The move came as a complete surprise to state and federal officials. The tribe jumped through none of the usual legal hoops involved with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). In fact, its plan seems to involve specifically avoiding taking the land in trust, which is a key step in the IGRA process.
It usually takes years of working through the IGRA process to obtain the necessary sign-offs from the U.S. Department of Interior and the state to establish even an on-reservation casino.
The tribe’s reservation is located in the Upper Peninsula, centered at Brimley. However the casino Bay Mills opened today was on land far from the reservation. What’s more, the tribe bought the property less than three months ago.
President Ronald REAGAN signed IGRA in 1988. Ever since, IGRA guidelines have been an open target for almost any and every legal theory an attorney could convince a tribe to try out.
The theory Bay Mills seems to be pursuing is that because it purchased the land near Vanderbilt with money it had received in exchange for giving up its aboriginal lands, the land is therefore exempt from the usual impediments IGRA placed on off-reservation gaming.
The entire issue of off-reservation gaming, as it pertains to IGRA is currently being reviewed nationally (See “Minnesota Event <http://mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=3437%2325188%20> Could Affect Muskegon Casino,”10/20/10).
The Bay Mills decision to test the legal theory might have been timed to coincide with the national discussion. In addition, it might also have been timed to take place prior to Governor-elect Rick SNYDER taking office.
Snyder is believed to be less amenable to gaming expansion than Gov. Jennifer <http://mirsnews.com/lob_bio.php?cid=532> GRANHOLM has been. However, the Granholm administration quickly voiced opposition to Bay Mills opening the Vanderbilt casino today.
Bay Mills Indian Community Reportedly Opens Off-Rez Casino in Lower Peninsula
Here is the link:
We have breaking news just in to the 9&10 Newsroom.
There is a new casino in Otsego County and it just opened its doors.
The Bay Mills Indian Community bought land and an empty welcome center in the Vanderbilt area, not far from I-75. The deal took more than 10 years to complete.
The Bay Mills Community is in Chippewa County, but leaders say they have been hunting elk in the area since 2007 as part of off-reservation hunting rights.
Since the purchase, there’s been wide speculation that the tribe would open a casino on the property.
That’s exactly what’s happening today, with little warning.
We have a crew in Vanderbilt and will bring you continuing coverage tonight on 9&10 News at 5:00 & 6:00.
Bay Mills Buys Land in Vanderbilt
From Upnorthlive:
The Bay Mills Indian Community is now the owner of a large parcel of land in Vanderbilt.
The more than 45 acres of property is next to I-75. The tribe is evaluating the condition of a 1200 sq. foot building, which is the former Treetops Resort Welcome Center, on the property.
While rumors have circulated that the tribe may choose to open a casino on the land, leaders of Bay Mills said they will use the land for hunting purposes.
Tribal leaders said they have been looking for a parcel of land for more than 10 years and the current economic climate allowed the tribe to buy the property at a reasonable price. Leaders have not prepared any trust application in regards to the site.
Rand and Light on Obama, Salazar, and Off-Reservation Gaming
Here, from the Gaming Law Review: Obama_Administration_July_2010
News Coverage on LRB Gaming Compact
From Indianz:
The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan is weighing its options after a compact for an off-reservation casino failed to come up for a vote last week. The tribe plans to build a casino in Fruitport Township. The site is about 80 miles from the tribe’s headquarters but it’s within the tribe’s nine-county service area. The compact survived a series of hearings but it appeared to be headed for a negative vote last week. Lawmakers have until December 31 to vote on the agreement. “We’re going to weigh the options and strategies we have before us,” Robert Memberto, the tribe’s commerce director, told The Muskegon Chronicle. Separately, the tribe needs approval for its land-into-trust application.
Get the Story:
Fruitport Township’s casino future uncertain after failed vote (The Muskegon Chronicle 8/30)
Testimony in Mich. House Committee Hearing on Little River Band Off-Rez Gaming Proposal
Intertribal Fight in Michigan over Little River Off-Rez Casino Proposal
From the K’zoo Gazette via Pechanga:
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.
Turtle Talk 
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