Opinion ID: 186599
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians

Text: 5 The Pokagon Band has a long history of dealings with the United States government, including involvement in 11 treaties with the federal government from 1795-1833. See 25 U.S.C. § 1300j. One such treaty, the Treaty of Chicago, 7 Stat. 431 (1833), involved the ceding of 5,000,000 acres by several tribes to the federal government in 1833 in exchange for a series of payments and a tract of equal size west of the Mississippi River. Hannahville Indian Cmty. v. United States, 4 Cl.Ct. 445, 447 (1983). While this agreement pushed many of the Potawatomi bands west, the Pokagon Band held steadfast and negotiated a supplement to the treaty, which gave them the right to remain in their Michigan homeland. See id. at 447-48; S. REP. NO. 103-266, at 2; H.R. REP. NO. 103-620, at 2 (1994). 6 In 1935, the Pokagon Band petitioned for reorganization under the newly minted IRA, which terminated the federal government's allotment policy and restored to Indians the management of their assets. While tribal governments located in Michigan's upper peninsula were granted federal services under the IRA, those in its lower peninsula, such as the Pokagon Band, were denied services and benefits due to an administrative decision predicated on the misguided assumption that residence on trust lands held in common for the Band was required for reorganization and the fact that appropriations to purchase such lands had run out. H.R. REP. NO. 103-620, at 5; see also S. REP. NO. 103-266, at 3-4. According to the Senate committee report leading to the passage of the Restoration Act authored nearly 60 years later, the Pokagon Band was unfairly terminated as a result of both faulty and inconsistent administrative decisions contrary to the intent of the Congress, federal Indian law and the trust responsibility of the United States. S. REP. NO. 103-266, at 6. 7 To remedy this injustice, Congress enacted the Restoration Act in 1994. The Act's specific purpose is to reaffirm and clarify the federal relationship of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan as a distinct federally recognized Indian tribe, to reaffirm the jurisdiction and other rights of the tribe, provide for the establishment of a trust land base for the tribe, and authorize the organization of the tribe and for other purposes. Id. at 1. The Tribe's status as a federally recognized tribe was reestablished, 25 U.S.C. § 1300j-1, thus bringing the Tribe within the umbrella of federal services and benefits extended to other federally recognized tribes, 25 U.S.C. § 1300j-2. In recognition of its ancestral homelands and the need for the Tribe to establish a reservation land base, Congress directed the Secretary to acquire real property for the Tribe, by taking land in trust to become part of its reservation. 25 U.S.C. § 1300j-5. Congress also delineated a 10-county area — encompassing the Tribe's current and ancestral homeland — where it is eligible to receive the federal services that accompany recognition. See 25 U.S.C. § 1300j-6. 8 The Restoration Act, however, did not provide any funding, so the Tribe had to consider economic development projects that would enable it both to restore its land base and to fund tribal governmental activities and services. The Tribe concluded that the only economic development that would attract sufficient capital would be a gaming and recreational facility. Consequently, in 1997 the Tribe entered into a compact with the State of Michigan in accordance with 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d) (2000) to permit the Tribe to conduct Class III (casino-style) gaming on eligible Indian lands. See Compact Between the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the State of Michigan Providing for the Conduct of Tribal Class III Gaming by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians at 2-3 (Jan. 29, 1997), reprinted in Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Township of New Buffalo Trust Consolidation Site Trust Application (Mar.2000), app. 3 (Trust App.), Joint Appendix (J.A.) 1324. Interior approved this agreement on February 18, 1999. Indian Gaming, 64 Fed.Reg. 8,111 (Feb. 18, 1999). 9 The Tribe also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (Memorandum) with the Secretary, which spelled out the amount of land to be taken into trust under the Restoration Act, the area in which that land was to be located, and the preference that, whenever possible, the land acquired would be contiguous. Memorandum of Understanding (Jan. 11, 1999), reprinted in Trust App., supra, tab 2, J.A. 1321. In addition, the Secretary confirmed that the Pokagon Band is a restored tribe within the meaning of § 2719(b)(1)(B) of IGRA, making it eligible for Class III gaming without having to undertake the more burdensome route to approval under § 2719(b)(1)(A). See 25 U.S.C. § 2719(b)(1)(A), (B). 10 The Tribe subsequently purchased in fee 26 separate and contiguous parcels of land across 675 acres within New Buffalo Township in Berrien County, Michigan, and then submitted an application to BIA requesting that the United States take the land into trust for the Tribe. A portion of that land would house the 110,000 square-foot gaming facility, five or six restaurants, a variety of gift shops, a child care facility, a 200-room first class hotel, and a surface parking lot and parking garage. 11 Before proceeding with the project, the Bureau was required under NEPA to assess the potential environmental impacts of the gaming resort. NEPA obligates an agency to prepare a detailed, comprehensive EIS if its proposal constitutes a major Federal action[] significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C) (2000). To determine what actions meet the § 4332(2)(C) threshold, the Bureau has adopted as advisory guidelines the regulations of the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ), which was established by NEPA to interpret the statute. See DOT v. Pub. Citizen, 541 U.S. 752, 757, 124 S.Ct. 2204, 159 L.Ed.2d 60 (2004); NEPA Handbook, Bureau of Indian Affairs Manual Supplement 1, §§ 1.1(B), 1.2, 1.3, J.A. 730-31. Those regulations permit agencies to issue first an EA, which is a less detailed document which may be used to determine whether or not an EIS is required. Id. § 2.2, J.A. 736. If, based on the EA, the agency finds that an EIS is not necessary, the Bureau may issue a Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which fulfills the documentation requirements established by the CEQ regulations. Id.; see 40 C.F.R. §§ 1501.4(e), 1508.9, 1508.13 (2005). 12 After working closely with the Tribe, an environmental consultant, and other federal agencies including the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for several months, BIA issued a draft EA of the casino project on November 21, 2000 and made it available for a 30-day comment period. In response to the comments received, BIA prepared a revised and modified assessment in January 2001. The EA analyzed a range of potential impacts of the proposed trust acquisition on geology and soils, prime and unique farmland, groundwater, floodplains, wetlands, wildlife habitat, vegetation, threatened and endangered species, air quality, noise, and cultural resources. See EA (Jan.2001) at 17-30, J.A. 329-42. It also addressed potential impacts on socioeconomics and other issues related to growth induced by the proposed facility. Id. at 30-45, J.A. 342-57. 13 On January 19, 2001, BIA issued a FONSI for the trust acquisition. The Bureau explained that implementation of the proposed actions with corresponding mitigation measures, will have no significant impact on the quality of the human environment within the meaning of NEPA. Proposed Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan Gaming Facility, FONSI, BIA (Jan. 19, 2001), J.A. 308. Thus, an EIS was not warranted. BIA subsequently issued a Notice of Intent to Take Land into Trust on January 22, 2001.