{"id":135510,"date":"2020-05-11T15:17:35","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T22:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=135510"},"modified":"2020-05-11T15:45:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T22:45:03","slug":"michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Tribal Casino Island Resort Ditched Reopening Plan After State Warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

In north Michigan, the Island Resort and Casino<\/a> did not come out of lockdown last week, as its owner, the Hannahville Indian Community, had anticipated. That\u2019s because state officials said they would make life difficult for enrolled tribal members and customers living outside the reservation if it did.<\/p>\n

\"Michigan
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s stance against COVID-19 has not always gone down well with some conservative state residents, or President Trump. (Image: David Eggert\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tribe voluntarily closed its casino on March 21, two days before Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) issued a statewide stay-at-home order in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. All nonessential businesses, including Detroit\u2019s three commercial casinos<\/a>, remain shuttered.<\/p>\n

But as federally recognized sovereign nations, Michigan\u2019s 12 tribal operators are not bound by the governor\u2019s orders. And facing economic hardship from the closure of its principle revenue stream, the Hannahville elected for a phased reopening of its gaming facility from May 6.<\/p>\n

The tribe said it would work with state officials on safety precautions, which would include increased sanitation measures and temperature checks on patrons.<\/p>\n

But May 6 came and went, and the casino did not reopen.<\/p>\n

Criminal Penalties<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tribal chairperson Kenneth Meshigaud told Native News Online<\/em> that the tribe\u2019s attempt to reach out to state officials did not go as planned.<\/p>\n

Instead, officials warned Meshigaud that, while the state could not legally prevent Island Resort from opening, it could target off-reservation casino employees and customers with violating the governor\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n

This meant they would be subject to fines of $1,000 per violation or per day for entering the casino, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a letter by email on May 5 that told us about the measures the governor had taken to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, such as declaring the state of emergency, stay-at-home orders, and explanation of the governor\u2019s authority,\u201d Meshigaud said.<\/p>\n

The letter told us we should limit our operations, otherwise our enrolled members living off reservation and customers could be cited and subject to civil and criminal penalties,\u201d he continued.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI did not want to put our tribal members or non-tribal members in jeopardy of being cited and wanted to consult with our tribal council,\u201d Meshigaud added.<\/p>\n

Michigan\u2019s Lockdown Backlash<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There have been widespread demonstrations by Michigan conservative groups against Gov. Whitmer\u2019s stay-at-home order, with thousands of motorists blocking the streets around Lansing in mid-April.<\/p>\n

On April 30, armed protesters rallied in Lansing\u2019s state capitol building demanding an end to lockdown.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gov. Whitmer has clashed publicly with President Trump over the federal government\u2019s handling of the distribution of PPE equipment.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson from the governor\u2019s office told Native News Online<\/em> that state representatives had been in touch with the tribes and that a conference call between Gov. Whitmer, the state attorney general\u2019s office, and public health officials had been scheduled for early this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect the tribes\u2019 sovereignty and seek to continue to work with them as partners in a concerted effort to protect human life from the threat posed by COVID-19,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In north Michigan, the Island Resort and Casino did not come out of lockdown last week, as its owner, the Hannahville Indian Community, had anticipated. That\u2019s because state officials said they would make life difficult for enrolled tribal members and customers living outside the reservation if it did. The tribe voluntarily closed its casino on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":135511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMichigan's Island Resort Casino Ditched Reopening After State Weighed In<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michigan\u2019s Island Resort and Casino failed to reopen from coronavirus lockdown after the Hannahville Indian Community was challenged by state officials.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michigan's Island Resort Casino Ditched Reopening After State Weighed In\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michigan\u2019s Island Resort and Casino failed to reopen from coronavirus lockdown after the Hannahville Indian Community was challenged by state officials.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-11T22:17:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-11T22:45:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/gretchen.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"773\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/\",\"name\":\"Michigan's Island Resort Casino Ditched Reopening After State Weighed In\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/gretchen.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-11T22:17:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-11T22:45:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Michigan\u2019s Island Resort and Casino failed to reopen from coronavirus lockdown after the Hannahville Indian Community was challenged by state officials.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michigan-tribal-casino-island-resort-ditched-reopening-plan-after-state-weighed-in\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/gretchen.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/gretchen.jpg\",\"width\":1160,\"height\":773,\"caption\":\"Michigan Gov. 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