2023 Indiana Code › Title 4. State Offices and Administration › Article 29.5. Tribal-State Compact With the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians › Chapter 0.5. Findings › 4-29.5-0.5-2. Legislative Findings

Sec. 2. WHEREAS, the State of Indiana is a sovereign State of the United States of America, having been admitted to the Union pursuant to the Enabling Act of April 19, 1816, 14 Ch. 57, April 19, 1816, 3 Stat. 289, and is authorized by its constitution to enter into contracts and agreements, including this agreement with the Band; and
WHEREAS, the Band is a federally recognized Indian tribe (reaffirmed pursuant to An Act to Restore Federal Services to the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, P.L.103-323, Sept. 21, 1994, 108 Stat. 2154 (hereinafter referred to as the "Pokagon Restoration Act" throughout IC 4-29.5)), and its governing body, the Tribal Council, is authorized by the Band's constitution to enter into contracts and agreements of every description, including this agreement with the State; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202 (1987), held that absent Congressional consent, and unless the state interests are sufficient to overcome federal preemption, state gaming regulations do not apply to Indian tribes within Indian country in the conduct of gaming activities under their sovereign authority; and
WHEREAS, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) (hereinafter "IGRA" throughout IC 4-29.5) establishes a federal framework for tribal gaming that permits Indian tribes to operate Class III gaming activities on Indian lands pursuant to a tribal-state Compact entered into for that purpose; and
WHEREAS, on June 30, 1993, the State through the enactment of Sec. 124 of P.L.277-1993, IC 4-33, Riverboat Gambling, authorized slot machines, roulette, baccarat, twenty-one, craps, and various other forms of casino gaming to be conducted within the State by riverboats located in certain specified counties and subject to state licensing and regulation; and
WHEREAS, said casino games are permitted "for any purpose by any person, organization or entity," within the meaning of IGRA 2710(d)(l)(B) and would be considered "Class III gaming" if conducted by the Band on "Indian lands", as those terms are defined in IGRA; and
WHEREAS, on May 12, 2015, the State enacted Sec. 1 of P.L.255-2015, Tribal Gaming, which establishes the process by which the State may negotiate and enter into a tribal-state Compact with an Indian tribe with land located within Indiana and already taken into trust by the United States government in order to authorize Class III gaming on those Indian lands located within Indiana; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to a final agency determination made on November 17, 2016, by the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior, on November 28, 2016, the United States accepted the conveyance of approximately 166 acres of land located in the City of South Bend, Indiana, in trust for the Band, which site the United States federal government determined is eligible for gaming under IGRA; and
WHEREAS, on January 16, 2018, the Band commenced "Class II gaming", as that term is defined in IGRA, on the South Bend Site under the business name Four Winds South Bend; and
WHEREAS, by letter to the Governor of Indiana dated August 13, 2019, the Band requested in accordance with IGRA 2710(d)(3)(A) that the Band and the State engage in negotiations for the purpose of entering into a gaming compact governing the conduct of "Class III gaming", as that term is defined in IGRA, on the South Bend Site; and
WHEREAS, a Compact between the Band and the State for the conduct of Class III gaming satisfies the requirements of IGRA in order for the Band to operate Class III gaming on the South Bend Site; and
WHEREAS, the State and the Band, in recognition of the sovereign rights of each party and in a spirit of cooperation in the interests of the citizens of the State and the citizens of the Band, have engaged in good faith negotiations recognizing and respecting the interests of each party and have agreed to this Compact.
As added by P.L.171-2021, SEC.1.