Two Indian casinos inch closer to approval in Michigan

Indian casinos in Romulus and Port Huron, Michigan, are getting closer to existence.

Two Indian casinos inch closer to approval in Michigan Wednesday the House Natural Resource Committee approved legislation which would allow two proposed Indian casinos to be built around Romulus and Port Huron in the state of Michigan. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and the Bay Mills Indian Community reached agreements in 2002 to take land in Romulus and Pot Huron and build off-reservation casinos there, in exchange to drop a land claim for about 110 acres in Charlotte Beach.

Opponents of the bill claimed that the tribes are simply searching for a way to build off-reservation casinos, bypassing the federal law. But the bill to settle the dispute by allowing the Indian tribes to build the two casinos passed the House committee by a wide margin. Still, the bill needs to go through the Senate, where the proposal faces an uncertain future because of opposition from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada).

Published on 02/14/2008