Off-Reservation Restrictions in Wisconsin

In two January actions, the U.S. Department of the Interior thwarted the casino development plans of Indian tribes who sought to build large Wisconsin casinos far from their reservations. Because the casino developments would not provide direct employment or other benefits to tribal members living on reservations, wrote Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary George Skibine, having the land "taken into trust" for the tribes' benefit was not "necessary" under the Indian Reorganization Act.

The land-into-trust process has become a critical step for a number of applications for off-reservation casinos around the country. The Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin proposed to build a major casino at the Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, Wis., 170 miles from the tribe's reservation. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the St. Croix Chippewa sought trust status for a parcel in Beloit, Wis., 300 miles from their reservations, where they wished to build a casino.

In both cases, according to Skibine, the land at issue was not selected because it would support tribal life, but because of "its proximity to urban markets." Noting that distant tribal casinos could undermine the reservation community by drawing tribal members away, Skibine rejected the claim that the land was "necessary" because it would generate revenues for tribal members. "All government," he explained, "can make the argument that revenues are necessary. But under the regulations, the pertinent analysis is whether the land itself is necessary."

A few weeks after those two rulings, the Interior Department agreed to take into trust a casino-destined parcel in southwestern Michigan for the Gun Lake Tribe. That tribe, however, has no reservation.