Grand Rapids Area Casino Pushes Forward

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an anti-Indian casino group’s appeal challenging the Interior Department’s decision to take land into trust for the Gun Lake Tribe’s proposed casino.

The high court’s action Jan. 21 effectively ends Michigan Gambling Opposition’s 10-year run of legal actions and public relations efforts to delay and stop Gun Lake’s plans to open a $200 million casino on 147 acres of trust land in Wayland County.

“We are very happy with the Supreme Court’s decision to reject MichGO’s appeal,” Gun Lake Chairman D.K. Sprague said. “It is, however, bittersweet. It’s been too long. One of the drawbacks to all the delay is we’ve lost a lot of tribal members. They’re walking on and they won’t be here to see the fruits of their labor. And that just saddens my heart that they aren’t here today to celebrate with us.” The Gun Lake Tribe’s formal name is the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians.

The tribe will now do its “housekeeping” – getting all the paperwork prepared for the interior to finalize the land into trust – and then move forward with plans for the Gun Lake Casino, Sprague said.

For the complete story, please see Gale Courey Toensing, Supreme Court denies anti-casino group’s appeal, Indian Country Today, February 3, 2008.