In the 1980s, Native American activists carved out new areas of sovereignty. With federal law, they could establish gaming casinos on sovereign tribal land, in states that allowed gambling. The states and tribes generally agreed to compacts for some revenue sharing. In some cases, early facilities featured little more than bingo halls. In 1984, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Board of Directors voted to open Kewadin Casinos. Due to financial problems related to the 2008
Great Recession, the tribe filed for bankruptcy protection for the Greektown casino. In 2010 it sold its interest and has since focused on developing properties in Upper Michigan.
Lansing Kewadin Casino On January 19, 2012, Kewadin Casinos and
Mayor of Lansing,
Virgil Bernero, announced plans for a $245 million casino to be built in
Downtown Lansing's entertainment district. Plans called for the opening of a temporary casino until a facility was completed on land owned by the City of Lansing. It was to be purchased by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. and the Tribe in May 2012. The Lansing casino was opposed by the
Michigan Attorney General, who filed a lawsuit in September 2012 to block the project. He argues that the casino violated federal law and a gaming compact between the Sault Chippewa and the state of Michigan. A federal judge issued an injunction on the project in April 2013 in response to the suit. This was lifted in December 2013 by a federal appeals court, which ruled that the lower court did not have jurisdiction and should not have issued the injunction. In May 2014, the
Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the State of Michigan in a related case regarding an off-reservation casino opened by the
Bay Mills Indian Community. It said that tribes had sovereign immunity from state regulation. As a result, the Michigan Attorney General dropped his appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the injunction on the Lansing casino project. The original lawsuit remained in a federal court, under charges by the Attorney General that tribal officials had violated the conditions of a Michigan gaming compact with the tribes. In December 2017, however, the Department of Interior rejected the application to take this property into trust, halting the casino project. It contended that under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, it could not take into trust land that tribes acquired after the act with later federal recognition.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport casino In June 2014, the tribe indicated it was considering a casino on a property to be acquired near the
Detroit Metropolitan Airport. == Properties ==