Law Article: Supreme Court to hear Bay Mills gaming lawsuit

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed June 24 to hear the case of Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community in its next term. The Bay Mills Indian Community (Tribe) had purchased fee land in Vanderbilt, Michigan, about 100 miles from its reservation, with earnings from a trust established by the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act (Act). Citing a provision in the Act that "earnings generated by the Land Trust shall be used exclusively for improvements on tribal land or the consolidation and enhancement of tribal landholdings through purchase or exchange" and that "[a]ny land acquired with funds from the Land Trust shall be held as Indian lands are held," the Tribe opened a casino. The Department of the Interior determined that the Vanderbilt land did not satisfy the criteria of the Act and that the casino was not on Indian land, as required by the IGRA.