Muskegon Casino

For Immediate Release
(February 12, 2008) Manistee MI

Muskegon Casino Proposed

An executive team from the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians presented their plans for a new casino in Muskegon to the Muskegon City Council at their regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening. Led by Ogema Larry Romanelli and Director of Commerce Robert Memberto, the team discussed the historical background of LRBOI as a federally-recognized tribe that already has many Anishinaabek (Tribal Citizens) living in the area and as the only tribe with already existing federal responsibilities to provide for the well.-being of Native Americans living in Muskegon. Little River has this responsibility for nine counties in Michigan.

Muskegon Casino

The plans shown to the City Council outlined a casino that would offer a much-needed economic boost to an area that has been devastated in recent years by the closing of many industrial facilities that used to call Muskegon home. The proposed facility would be approximately ice the size of the highly successful Little River Casino Resort in Manistee with about 2200 slots and 30 table games. Unlike the Little River operation which has their own restaurants, entertainment and hotel, the Muskegon casino would partner with area lodging groups, restaurants and entertainment venues to help create an overall package for the benefit of the entire community.

Outside of the hundreds of construction jobs created building this casino, approximately 800 regular jobs with benefits would be created at the Muskegon casino. The economic impact on the area would be extensive as the tribe historically prefers to use local vendors at their operations.

For further information, contact the Office of Public Affairs for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians at 375 River Street, Manistee, MI 49660. Office phone 231.723.8288.

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Ethno-History Overview

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is a federally recognized Tribe pursuant to P.L. 103-324. The Tribe has governmental offices based in Muskegon, Michigan and Manistee, Michigan — The Manistee offices are located within the boundaries of the Reservation established under the Treaty of 1836. The Tribe’s current Indian Health Services designated Contract Health Service Delivery Area includes nine Michigan counties including: Manistee, Mason, Lake, Wexford, Kent, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, and Ottawa.

Our people are the descendants of and the political successors to nine Grand River Ottawa Bands whose leaders were signatories to the 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit. Prior to the 1855 Treaty our people inhabited village sites from the Manistee River south to the Grand River, in the western Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

After the 1855 Treaty, the Grand River Ottawa Bands from the Manistee River south to the Grand River were relocated to a reservation encompassing four townships in Mason and Oceana Counties. After our people arrived in Mason and Oceana Counties by about 1860, they were to select 40 and 80 acre allotments on the Reservation, according to the terms of the 1855 Treaty.

Nearly all of these tribal lands were lost by the 20th Century, primarily due to illegal taxation and/or other fraudulent acts that were committed against our ancestors. During this same period, the Bureau of Indian Affairs also breached its “trust” responsibility by ceasing to recognize our tribal government and the treaty-reserved rights of our people.

For over 100 years, succeeding generations of Ottawa leaders protested these treaty- related matters with the federal government. Since the early 1900’s, various tribal organizations and inter-tribal coalitions in Michigan had formed and sought redress with the federal government regarding the status of Ottawa treaty rights, land claims and other sovereignty-related issues.

In 1991, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians sought and succeeded in having legislation introduced in Congress to reaffirm our status as a federally recognized Tribe. After three years of congressional meetings arid hearings the U.S. Congress finally passed legislation that reaffirmed the status of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians as a federally recognized Tribe on August 3, 1994. President Clinton signed Public Law 103-324 into law on September 21, 1994.

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We will post more information about the Muskegon Casino as it happens!