Tribe wants to get ball rolling on bingo parlor

Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairwoman Tracy Stanhoff (right) and Tribal Council member James Potters pack up their belongings Tuesday night following a presentation before the DeKalb County Board at the County Judicial Center in Sycamore. Chronicle photo HOLLY LUNDH

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SYCAMORE - A Tuesday sit-down between a Kansas-based American Indian tribe and DeKalb County Board members did little to resolve a stalemate over whether the tribe will be able to move ahead with plans to build a bingo parlor near Shabbona. In its presentation to the board's Executive Committee, representatives for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation rehashed the reasons they believe the 128 acres near University and Preserve roads is reservation land. The Potawatomi purchased the land for $8.8 million in April 2006, and have since announced plans to build a government center and a bingo hall on the site. The county abruptly cut off negotiations with the tribe for the development of the land last October because county officials were not certain the tribe's claim that the land is a reservation was accurate. &#8220The tribe was told discussion and negotiations could only begin again if the tribe would send a letter to the federal government to clarify the status of the land and the legality of the tribe conducting gaming there,” State's Attorney Ron Matekaitis said. Tribal officials and their attorneys said the land's status was clearly set out in a 2001 letter from the Department of the Interior stating the tribe has a &#8220credible claim” to the land, which was given to Chief Shabbona in an 1829 treaty and later sold to white settlers. The letter was in response to a question about whether the tribe could sue to get its lands back, attorney Michael Rosetti said. &#8220The department didn't duck the question (of whether the land is a reservation),” he said. &#8220There was no question of whether this was a reservation. That was a given. The question was what to do next.” Rosetti said if the tribe asks the department for further clarification, the answer would probably be a long time coming. &#8220The federal government does not repeat itself,” he said. &#8220They're going to say, ‘We already answered this. Don't ask questions that don't need an answer.' Then it's going to go to the bottom of a pile somewhere and maybe we'll get a response in five years.” Dennis Whittlesey, a Washington, D.C., attorney retained by the county, said the land is clearly Indian land, but whether it actually qualifies for reservation status is a complex legal question. He said the Department of the Interior's opinions so far have all stated that the claim would not be certain until it was tested in court. County board Chairwoman Ruth Anne Tobias, D-DeKalb, said the county had not said it must receive a response from the federal government before moving forward with negotiations. &#8220We were not expecting to wait for an answer,” she said. &#8220We would move forward with negotiations upon submission of a letter.” Several county board members asked what the county's liability would be if it went ahead and negotiated intergovernmental agreements with the tribe and the land was found not to be a reservation. Matekaitis said the agreements would be negotiated in such a way that the tribe would have all liability. Board member Julia Fauci, D-DeKalb, said she wasn't sure why the tribe needs the land to be a reservation. &#8220Our local Catholic church has bingo,” she said. &#8220What's the difference?” Whittlesey said the tribe could get licensed through the state for non-Indian bingo just like anybody else, but the land must be a reservation for it to host gaming regulated by the federal Indian Gaming Act. Board member Roger Steimel, R-DeKalb, said some people are still nervous that the tribe may open a Vegas-style casino like the one it operates on its reservation in Kansas once it gets its foot in the door in DeKalb County. &#8220The concern is, once we open the door, what's coming next?” he said. &#8220This is really about making money, and will you be content with this small bingo hall?” Tribal Chairwoman Tracy Stanhoff said the tribe may eventually expand the 22,000-square-foot bingo hall it has planned or may open other businesses on the site, like a hunting and fishing lodge and a restaurant. She said a Vegas-style casino is not planned, and said the county could protect itself through intergovernmental agreements. &#8220These agreements are your way to hold us to that and make sure we never do anything that is offensive to you or to the community,” she said. The committee took no action on the issue. Dana Herra can be reached at dherra@daily-chronicle.com.