2008 Woodie Awards
Port Huron casino land dispute moves to House
Bay Mills says rival tribe is motivated by finances
By: Daniel Monson
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: News
Jeff Parker believes the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is motivated more by its finances than protecting its ancestral lands in Port Huron.
Parker is president of executive council for Bay Mills, a rival Chippewa tribe based in Brimley in the Upper Peninsula that is trying to obtain land in Port Huron.
The House Committee of Natural Resources voted 21-5 on Feb. 13 to send two bills to the House of Representatives that would give the Bay Mills Indian Community and Sault Ste. Marie Chippewas land sites for proposed casinos.
But Bay Mills' dispute with the state of Michigan goes back more than 125 years, Parker said.
"I think why it passed so easily in committee is because the committee fully understands what the issue is - that this is a legitimate claim that Bay Mills has been trying to get resolved since the 1880s," Parker said.
The tribe has been pursuing the Port Huron site since 1993.
James P. Hill, CMU Honors Program director, recently finished a 10-year study on the effect of tribal casinos in Michigan. He said November's election could influence the path of the bills.
"Bottom line, this is the end of the year, and any legislation that passes this year will be need to be pretty bipartisan and non-controversial," Hill said. "Why risk (political) capital on this when you can do it again next year?"
Parker said the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe does not have a legitimate right to block the Port Huron site, despite its claim that it violates agreements between all Michigan tribes.
"If anybody would go back and take a look back at the treaties that were signed by the tribes in Michigan and would look up the definition of what a cession treaty is, it's a real estate transaction between governments," he said. "Unless you've reserved anything within that treaty for the seller, you've basically sold the property."
Joe Sowmick, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe's public relations director, declined comment, directing all inquiries to the tribe's Web site.
Parker is president of executive council for Bay Mills, a rival Chippewa tribe based in Brimley in the Upper Peninsula that is trying to obtain land in Port Huron.
The House Committee of Natural Resources voted 21-5 on Feb. 13 to send two bills to the House of Representatives that would give the Bay Mills Indian Community and Sault Ste. Marie Chippewas land sites for proposed casinos.
But Bay Mills' dispute with the state of Michigan goes back more than 125 years, Parker said.
"I think why it passed so easily in committee is because the committee fully understands what the issue is - that this is a legitimate claim that Bay Mills has been trying to get resolved since the 1880s," Parker said.
The tribe has been pursuing the Port Huron site since 1993.
James P. Hill, CMU Honors Program director, recently finished a 10-year study on the effect of tribal casinos in Michigan. He said November's election could influence the path of the bills.
"Bottom line, this is the end of the year, and any legislation that passes this year will be need to be pretty bipartisan and non-controversial," Hill said. "Why risk (political) capital on this when you can do it again next year?"
Parker said the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe does not have a legitimate right to block the Port Huron site, despite its claim that it violates agreements between all Michigan tribes.
"If anybody would go back and take a look back at the treaties that were signed by the tribes in Michigan and would look up the definition of what a cession treaty is, it's a real estate transaction between governments," he said. "Unless you've reserved anything within that treaty for the seller, you've basically sold the property."
Joe Sowmick, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe's public relations director, declined comment, directing all inquiries to the tribe's Web site.
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