Federal hearing to decide tribal dispute over site
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to lobby against bill
By: Daniel Monson
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
In the last decade, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has spent more than $14 million in an effort to block a proposed casino by a rival Chippewa tribe in Port Huron.
But to the Saginaw Chippewas, the issue is about a lot more than dollars and cents.
Representatives from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the Bay Mills Indian Community will be in Washington, D.C. at 2 p.m. today for a federal hearing about a land settlement that would clear the way for the Port Huron casino. Officials from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians also will be in attendance to discuss its proposal for a casino in Romulus.
Bay Mills' plans to locate a casino on Saginaw Chippewa's ancestral land will never be supported by the tribe, said Joseph Sowmick, director of public relations for the tribe.
"It is clearly within the ancestral lines of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe," Sowmick said. "We're prepared to show that in documentation, and part of the documentation is the treaties that have been (agreed to) by the government with the Chippewa tribe."
Bay Mills is based near Brimley in the Upper Peninsula. It has been pursuing the Port Huron site since 1993.
The Port Huron area was home to the Saginaw tribe's descendants, the Blackwater River band, from 1807 to 1836 on a 1,287-acre reservation.
Sowmick said Michigan's Native American tribes made a pact that stated no business venture could be placed on other tribes' ancestral lands without the consent of all 12 tribes.
"I don't think it's our role as a state government to be interfering with the tribal compacts, or the agreements they may (have) had amongst themselves," said state Rep. Bill Caul, R-Mount Pleasant. "They're a sovereign nation, so it's pretty impossible for us to do that."
"What we need to be able to do is to be in wait and keep the lines of communication open with whatever tribe is moving forward. Once they have been given the green light by the federal government, and if they are able to meet all requirements, we can put their land in trust and negotiate with them, so we can capture some dollars that can benefit the state."
But to the Saginaw Chippewas, the issue is about a lot more than dollars and cents.
Representatives from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the Bay Mills Indian Community will be in Washington, D.C. at 2 p.m. today for a federal hearing about a land settlement that would clear the way for the Port Huron casino. Officials from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians also will be in attendance to discuss its proposal for a casino in Romulus.
Bay Mills' plans to locate a casino on Saginaw Chippewa's ancestral land will never be supported by the tribe, said Joseph Sowmick, director of public relations for the tribe.
"It is clearly within the ancestral lines of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe," Sowmick said. "We're prepared to show that in documentation, and part of the documentation is the treaties that have been (agreed to) by the government with the Chippewa tribe."
Bay Mills is based near Brimley in the Upper Peninsula. It has been pursuing the Port Huron site since 1993.
The Port Huron area was home to the Saginaw tribe's descendants, the Blackwater River band, from 1807 to 1836 on a 1,287-acre reservation.
Sowmick said Michigan's Native American tribes made a pact that stated no business venture could be placed on other tribes' ancestral lands without the consent of all 12 tribes.
"I don't think it's our role as a state government to be interfering with the tribal compacts, or the agreements they may (have) had amongst themselves," said state Rep. Bill Caul, R-Mount Pleasant. "They're a sovereign nation, so it's pretty impossible for us to do that."
"What we need to be able to do is to be in wait and keep the lines of communication open with whatever tribe is moving forward. Once they have been given the green light by the federal government, and if they are able to meet all requirements, we can put their land in trust and negotiate with them, so we can capture some dollars that can benefit the state."
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