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January 31, 2012

Tribes rip Lansing mayor's comments

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press

LANSING — Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero was criticized Monday by American Indian tribal representatives who said he made racially insensitive comments at a fundraising event last week, as heated debate continues over his plans for opening a casino in Michigan's capital city.

James Nye, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and a spokesman for tribes opposing the Lansing casino plans, said he's been told Bernero referred to him as "Chief Chicken Little" at last week's fundraiser. Bernero apologized Monday but said he didn't think his comments could be construed as a racial slur.

Bernero supports a proposed off-reservation casino.

that would be owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

The project would need to be approved by the U.S. Interior Department, and it's opposed by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians — both of which own casinos operating within an hour's drive of Lansing.

Nye is a spokesperson for those tribes opposed to the Lansing casino, and he's a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

The tribes opposed to the Lansing casino say Bernero, a Democrat who lost Michigan's 2010 gubernatorial election to Republican Rick Snyder, also used profanity during his comments last week. The tribes said in a statement Bernero appeared on stage with a bull's eye target on his back "to suggest he is under fire from bows and arrows."

Bernero issued a statement Monday.

"My passionate support for Lansing and our casino project may have gotten the better of me, but none of my remarks were directed toward Native Americans, and nothing I said can fairly be construed as a racial slur, despite our opponent's attempt to spin it that way," Bernero said. "I make no apologies for using strong language against our opponents, who have made some very impertinent remarks about me, but I do offer my heartfelt and sincere apology to any and all who were offended by my choice of words."

Nye said he considered Bernero's apology "half-hearted at best" and said the mayor's earlier comments showed how bitter the debate over the proposed casino has become.

"We should be able to do our jobs, while disagreeing over public policy on gaming, without getting attacked for being Native American," Nye said.

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