Sault Tribe wins St. Ignace casino lawsuit

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS

************************* Sault Tribe wins Kewadin Shores casino lawsuit

ST. IGNACE, MI - Today, United States District Judge R. Allan Edgar ruled in favor of the Sault Tribe on whether a parcel of land in St. Ignace taken into trust for the tribe was eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

IGRA is a comprehensive federal statute that regulates Indian gaming.

Under IGRA, gaming may not take place on lands taken into trust after October 17, 1988, unless the land falls within one of the exceptions: if the land is contiguous to the reservation on that date, or if the land is restored lands to a restored tribe.

Today, Judge Edgar ruled that the St. Ignace land is contiguous to the tribe’s reservation and, therefore, is eligible for casino gaming.

Beginning in 2003, the tribe made plans to replace its casino in St. Ignace.

The old casino was built in the mid-1980s on a parcel of land taken into trust in 1983 (the 1983 parcel).

Over the years, the tribe added to the original casino several times, and as a result, it had developed into a maze-like structure with numerous problems, including inadequate heating and ventilating, sewage disposal, restaurant facilities, and numerous other problems.

The tribe concluded that it was time to replace the Kewadin Shores Casino with a new facility.

The new casino was completed in 2006 and includes a hotel, state-of-the-art heating and ventilating equipment, new restaurant, and new lounge areas.

The casino is located partially on the 1983 parcel and partially on land taken into trust for the tribe in 2000 (the 2000 parcel).

The tribe’s position has always been that the 2000 parcel is eligible for gaming under IGRA.

IGRA allows gaming on land taken into trust after October 17, 1988 if the contiguous parcel was a reservation before that date.

Over a period of three years, the tribe attempted to convince the Department of the Interior and the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) that the 1983 parcel is a reservation within the meaning of IGRA.

The Department of the Interior and the NIGC disagreed.

That disagreement resulted in the tribe’s suit against the department and the NIGC, which was filed on November 9, 2006.

Today, Judge Edgar ruled against the United States, the Department of the Interior and the NIGC, and ruled in favor of the tribe.

Judge Edgar found that the Department of the Interior has been inconsistent in its interpretation of the word “reservation”, as used in IGRA.

He concluded that the 1983 parcel is a reservation and, therefore, gaming may take place at the casino partially located on the contiguous 2000 parcel.

The tribe has been operating in its new casino in St. Ignace for approximately one year under a preliminary injunction issued by the Court last August, which restrained the United States from taking any action to close the new casino, pending the outcome of the case.

The court’s opinion today legitimizes the tribe’s conduct of class III gaming in the replacement casino, and eliminates any uncertainty about whether the casino property is eligible for gaming under IGRA.

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