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Bay Mills Tribe to Open Casino in Port Huron

Posted on April 23rd, 2011

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The Bay Mills Indian Community is an Indian community covered by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 as one of the four original Indian reservations. Specifically, the Bay Mills Tribe is under the Ojibwe Indians, a group of Native Americans. Way back in July 4, 1984, the Bay Mills Tribe opened their first casino in their multi-purpose community center. Fondly called as the Kings Club, this was the first tribally-operated casino and was the first of many casinos the Bay Mills Tribe dreamt to establish.

Recently, the Bay Mills Tribe has received much attention from the people of Michigan after it opened its 38-slot machine Vanderbilt casino without first seeking approval from any duly authorized local government agency. The casino did not meet the State’s requirements for Indian-run casinos to be established in Michigan. Nonetheless, the Bay Mills Vanderbilt casino opened its doors to customers. Obviously, this circumstance brought about many contentions, particularly those from the Odawa Indians, another tribe who operates a casino nearby, and from Michigan’s attorney general. Their main contention was that the Bay Mills Tribe established the casino without any permission to do so, which is in direct violation to State rules regarding gambling operations. However, it was the claim of the Bay Mills Indians that the permission to operate was not needed.

They claimed that under the Michigan Indian Lands Claims Settlement Act (MILSCA), the Bay Mills Tribe had the right to operate class 3 gaming facilities inside Indian Territory. Moreover, under the Land Trust, the funds given to the Bay Mills Indian Tribe can be used for the “improvements on tribal lands or the consolidation and enhancement of tribal landholdings”. Thus, when the Bay Mills Tribe bought the Vanderbilt Land using the money acquired from the Land Trust, the land automatically became Indian Land. Furthermore, because of the compact Bay Mills has with the State of Michigan which allows them to operate casinos in their land, the Tribe had the right to operate the casino, even without the permission of the State. Nonetheless, the State ruled against the Bay Mills Tribe, citing it illegal for them to operate a casino in Vanderbilt without due permission because it is not Indian Land. Likewise, the State of Michigan ordered for the immediate closure of the Vanderbilt casino.

For Michigan locals, however, especially those residing in Port Huron, they know that the Vanderbilt casino was just a part of a bigger picture. Should the Vanderbilt casino not been reprimanded, the Bay Mills Tribe would have opened a similar casino, but this time in Port Huron. This casino would have been situated at the old post office of the Desmond Landing, Port Huron. However, because of the recent ruling regarding the Vanderbilt casino, the chances of establishing another casino of the same rationale seem slim to observers.

However, the President of the Bay Mills Tribe, Jeff Parker, expressed optimism in their plans. He says the tribe will start working on the post office they acquired at Port Huron by summer. He expects the Port Huron casino to be fully operational by next year. Unfortunately, looking more clearly at the picture, the Bay Mills Tribe does have a slim chance of operating the casino they envision and getting away with it without the State of Michigan interfering, most especially with what happened at Vanderbilt. Nonetheless, Parker is confident with their vision and claims he has tribal support, local support and state support, all of which vital for a casino establishment in any area.

Despite of the hurdles being faced by the Bay Mills Tribe, one thing is definitely certain should a casino be established in Port Huron: hope. Many Port Huron residents have been recently laid off from their jobs, which meant no stable sources of income for the families. Should a casino open in the area, jobs would definitely open, which could then help the families in Port Huron even in small ways. Also, just like any other governed area, casinos generate a large sum of money–revenue from which the government can collect its taxes. With these reasons, there is still a probability, although a slim one, that the Port Huron casino can become operational in the near future.