Filed Date: June 9, 2026
Clearinghouse coding in progress
[This summary is temporary while we research the case]. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (the Band), a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Michigan, filed this complaint on June 9, 2026, against the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Band opened the Crystal Shores Casino in January 2025 in Benzie County, Michigan, on land that the Interior Department placed into trust for the Band in April 1999. Plaintiff contended the casino qualified for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act's (IGRA) "restored lands exception," which permits gaming on lands taken into trust as part of the restoration of a tribe's lands following federal recognition. The NIGC, however, issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) in January 2026, disapproved an amendment to the Band's gaming ordinance, and demanded cessation of all gaming on the Benzie Parcel, threatening civil fines of up to $65,655 per violation per day—all based solely on the "one-bite rule" in 25 C.F.R. § 292.12(c), which bars the restored lands exception for any tribe already operating gaming facilities elsewhere. The Band challenged the one-bite rule as having no basis in IGRA's statutory text, as contrary to the statute's purposes and the Indian canon of construction, and as an arbitrary and capricious departure from prior agency interpretations. The Band sought declaratory relief invalidating the one-bite rule, vacatur of the NOV and gaming ordinance disapproval, and an injunction prohibiting further enforcement against gaming on the Benzie Parcel.
Summary Authors
(6/14/2026)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73458112/parties/grand-traverse-band-of-ottawa-and-chippewa-indians-v-national-indian/
Handelsman, Josh (District of Columbia)
Kanji, Riyaz A. (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73458112/grand-traverse-band-of-ottawa-and-chippewa-indians-v-national-indian/
Last updated July 3, 2026, 3:12 a.m.
State / Territory:
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 9, 2026
Case Details
Other Dockets:
District of District of Columbia 1:26-cv-02037
Case Summary of Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians v. National Indian Gaming Commission, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/48216/ (last updated 6/14/2026).