LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the state can stop an Indian tribe from putting a casino on land it bought in northern Michigan. As Michigan Public Radio’s Rick Pluta reports, the court accepted the case Monday morning.
At issue is a casino the Bay Mills Indian tribe built and opened in the town of Vanderbilt. The tribe used money from a land settlement to buy the property. Tribal leaders say the new property is part of the tribe’s sovereign territory.
The question here is whether Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette even has standing to sue the tribe. Schuette says he needs that authority so Michigan has some control over the proliferation of casinos within its borders.
Schuette won an early round in federal court, but the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled with tribe. The Vanderbilt casino remains closed while courts sort out the issue.
For the Michigan Public Radio Network, I’m Rick Pluta in Lansing.