Tribal Leaders: Oppose Sault Tribe off-reservation casino bid

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker’s recent decision to stop the proposed off-reservation casino in Lansing should bring welcomed scrutiny to this unfortunate proposal. Judge Jonker’s decision validates our position that this proposed casino violates state and federal law. Lansing taxpayers should think twice about footing the bill for Mayor Virg Bernero’s quixotic crusade. Land is sacred to the native culture. Our ancestors signed treaties with the United States that ceded the Lansing region to the federal government. It is important to understand that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe is located in the Upper Peninsula and has no aboriginal or historic ties to this region. The tribe’s chairman affirmed this fact in recent testimony before Congress. These are our treaty lands and we will not sit still and let another tribe open a casino in our homelands.

In 1993, the Sault Tribe and six other Indian tribes in Michigan signed gaming compacts with the state that provided the legal framework under which tribal gaming facilities would operate. All of these compacts contained a provision that requires any tribe seeking an off-reservation casino to first obtain a revenue sharing agreement with the other tribes. This provision served to protect the aboriginal territory of the tribes and act as a check on the proliferation of gaming. The Sault Tribe attempted to break its promise to the state and the other tribes by building a casino 300 miles from its reservation, and Judge Jonker rightfully put a halt to their plans.