Bill Seeks Tribal Reservation Status
Stupak Measure Would Allow Gaming in Main Building of Casino
By Karen Gould

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has garnered legislative support for its efforts to secure reservation status for approximately 65 acres of land in St. Ignace Township, the site of its oneyear old hotel and casino, which would allow casino gaming inside the main building. Challenging the issue on a legislative, rather than litigation, front, U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak of Menominee has introduced a bill seeking the land designation change from the Department of the Interior. A hearing was held on the bill Wednesday, June 13, before the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee.

If approved, the measure would end tribal litigation against the government to accomplish the same goal. The bill may be voted on as early as July.

Moving gambling operations into the main building would salvage sagging tribal finances at the site, tribal officials say.

The federal government's failure to change the land designation has affected tribal revenues and could impact employment, tribal services, and grants given by the tribe to local units of government, Tribal Chairman Aaron Payment told the committee. Changing the land status would allow gaming inside the casino's main building, which was intended when it was built in June 2006.

Testimony was given by Congressman Stupak, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) George Skibine, and Mr. Payment. Tribal board members Fred Paquin and Todd Gravelle also attended the hearing.

To offer gaming at the Kewadin Shores Casino and Hotel in October 2006, after the tribe learned that gaming would not be allowed in the main facility, a 25,000-square-foot temporary tent on legal gaming land was added near the main building. The tent and the main building are attached by a walkway.

"The gaming space in the temporary facility is not optimal, as customers are often confused about parking and the distance to walk to the gaming floor," Mr. Payment told the committee.

"Our revenue data shows that we are losing money and customers," he said. Revenues are down 6.5% over last year, said Mr. Payment, and in May revenues dropped 11% over the previous year.

"This downturn in revenues is attributed to the temporary structure, which our customers do not like. Many have told us they will not return," he said.

The tribe employs approximately 20% of the adult workforce in St. Ignace, and a continued loss of revenue will impact the economy of the local community, said Mr. Payment.

"Forty five percent of all our casino employees are non-tribal," he said. "Approximately $13.5 million of our $30 million payroll supports jobs for those who are not tribal members, which underscores that this is not simply an Indian problem."

The tribe employs approximately 350 people at the St. Ignace facility, as reported in The St. Ignace News in October 2006.

Grants given to local units of government totaling 2% of slot machine revenues have helped supplement funding that previously came from the state and federal governments, Mr. Payment said.

"Those local units of government have come to rely on the tribe's contributions," he said.

Tribal services also may have to be reduced if revenues continue to fall, which Mr. Payment attributed to use of the temporary gaming facility.

"My tribe spends 97% of our net revenue on membership services to make up for the shortfall of federal funding," he said. "If we continue to lose income, we will have to cut membership services."

Area units of government, said Mr. Payment, and a nearby tribe also support the legislation introduced by Mr. Stupak.

"We have the support of the city, township, and county governments, and the neighboring tribe of just 30 miles, the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, for this legislation. We would urge expedited consideration of this legislation so that we can finally use our building as it was intended," he said.

"I have yet to hear a valid reason why the 1983 land cannot be considered reservation," Congressman Stupak told the committee.

The land has been held in trust by the government for the tribe since 1983, and tribal housing and other tribal facilities are on the land. Land that was acquired by the tribe in 2000 includes that on which the Kewadin Shores Casino and Hotel were built.

Of trust land, the government holds the title to the property. For the tribe, trust land accounts for 1,600 acres in the Upper Peninsula, and of that, 124.8 acres are reservation

The Department of Interior argues that because the 1983 trust land has not been officially declared a reservation, the 2000 land where the casino is built is not "contiguous to the boundaries of the reservation," said Mr. Stupak, quoting part of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

"Interior makes this argument despite several Supreme Court precedents that would include the 1983 land in its definition of a reservation," he continued.

Since 1987, the tribe has sought reservation status for the land through the BIA. The federal gaming authorities have refused to allow gaming in the $35 million gaming, hotel, and entertainment complex because of the land's designation.

Last year, the tribe filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The tribe contends the original application to designate the land as reservation status was lost at the federal level. While the BIA claims the paperwork was submitted late, it now supports the tribe's request to change the land designation.

"In 1988," said Mr. Skibine of the BIA at the hearing, "the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe approached the Department [BIA] to have the land proclaimed a reservation, along with six other parcels, but its paperwork was not completed prior to the enactment of IGRA [Indian Gaming Regulatory Act]."

The act went into effect in 1988.

Mr. Skibine said, "We suggest amending the legislative language to reflect that 'the property shall be deemed a reservation as of April 19, 1988, for purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.'"

Now at the committee level, the bill could be voted on by Congress as early as mid-July, Cory Wilson, communications director for the tribe, told The St. Ignace News Friday, June 15.

"We all are looking forward to having it resolved at the congressional level," he said.