Our Commitment 

The members of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan maintain our elders' vision, integrity, spirituality, culture and economic self-sufficiency by protecting our sovereignty, treaty rights, traditions, land and natural resources for our future generations.

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan consider ourself to be a sovereign yet vibrant part of the Western Michigan heritage. We aspire to create responsible culture and economic opportunities for growth that will benefit our Tribal Citizens, neighboring communities and the entire state of Michigan.

D.K. Sprague Educational Scholarship Endowment

The D.K. Sprague Educational Scholarship Endowment is designed for those in the Gun Lake Tribe's five-county service area, which includes Allegan, Barry, Kent, Kalamazoo and Ottawa Counties. This Scholarship Endowment is awarded to one student per county in the service area and could potentially cover all or most of the student's higher education costs. The Gun Lake Tribe is very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to those in our local community.

Stay tuned for next year's eligibility requirements and scholarship application. 

Public Safety

The Gun Lake Tribe is committed to providing a safe experience at its gaming facility, settlement, government campus, gas station and all surrounding communities. To that end, the Gun Lake Tribe has our own Public Safety Department, created to ensure that our local communities and casino patrons remain safe and sound. Indian casinos are known for their security and regulation. By design, casinos are very secure establishments.

The Gun Lake Tribal Public Safety Department has been granted authority to enforce those laws and regulations as set forth by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of the Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe) and the United States of America. The goal of the Public Safety department is to protect human life, maintain peace and to protect the property and resources of the Tribe, its Citizens, families and Guests. We strive to achieve these goals through self-dedication, appropriate training, utilization of officer experience, skills, talents and the use of accepted law enforcement techniques and practices. By providing these basic core values through training, policy and sound ethical decisions, we intend to instill integrity, ethics and honesty to our members. It is our intent that we will continue working together, with genuine concern for one another, as we move toward achieving excellence in the delivery of service to meet the challenges of the future.

The police officers and members of the Public Safety Department take pride in their position within the Department and are expected to carry out these responsibilities professionally, courteously and with due diligence, at all times.

All Gun Lake Tribal Police Officers hold the following certifications and deputizations, which allows them to enforce Tribal, State and Federal Laws on and off Tribal Trust Land for both native and non-native individuals:

• The Gun Lake Department of Public Safety operates 24 hours per day, 365 days a year
• All officers are State of Michigan (MCOLES) certified
• All officers are deputized as Allegan County Sheriff Deputies
• All officers are deputized Tribally
• All officers hold Special Law Enforcement Commissions through the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Charitable Endeavors 

The Gun Lake Tribe takes a personal responsibilty and pride in sharing our assets with various charitable organizations and events throughout the local community. We know we have been blessed with great success in recent years and we always look forward to assisting our community in any way that we can. 

Local Revenue Sharing 

The Gun Lake Casino Local Revenue Sharing Board (LRSB) exists to comply with the terms of a Compact between the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (the Tribe) and the State of Michigan providing for Tribal Class III gaming by the Tribe in Wayland Township of Allegan County. Membership on the LRSB consists of one representative selected by the governing body of the county, one representative from the governing body of the township where the casino is located and one representative selected by the remaining units of local government that are parties to the Inter-Local Agreement, and three representatives selected by the Tribe.

 

Recent contributions from the Local Revenue Sharing Board are as follows: 

Distributed June 2017: 

• $419,639.16 to Wayland Township 
• $828,173.00 to Wayland Public Schools
• $15,117.00 to the City of Wayland
• $15,117.00 to Martin Township
• $15,117.00 to Yankee Springs Township
• $363,071.40 to Allegan County
• $136,861.00 to AAESA
• $15,117.00 to Dorr Township
• $15,117.00 to Hopkins Township
• $15,117.00 to Leighton Township

Distributed December 2016: 

• $414,914.68 to Wayland Township 
• $817,233.00 to Wayland Public Schools 
• $14,917.00 to the City of Wayland
• $14,917.00 to Martin Township
• $14,917.00 to Yankee Springs Township
• $358,130.84 to Allegan County
• $135,053.00 to AAESA
• $14,917.00 to Dorr Township
• $14,917.00 to Hopkins Township
• $14,917.00 to Leighton Township