CALIFORNIA
Sacramento Office:
2020 L Street, Suite 250
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: 916-441-2700
Fax: 916-441-2067

COLORADO
Louisville Office:
1900 Plaza Drive
Louisville, CO 80027
Phone: 303-673-9600
Fax: 303-673-9155

MICHIGAN
Peshawbestown Office:
2848 Setterbo Road
Peshawbestown, MI 49682
Phone: 231-631-8558

NEBRASKA
Omaha Office:
3610 North 163rd Plaza
Omaha, NE 68116
Phone: 402-333-4053
Fax: 402-333-4761

NORTH DAKOTA
Mandan Office:
3730 29th Avenue
Mandan, ND 58554
Phone: 303-673-9600
Fax: 701-663-5103

SOUTH DAKOTA
Sioux Falls Office:
3817 Slaten Park Drive
Sioux Falls, SD 57103
Phone: 605-338-9147
Fax: 605-339-1769

Rapid City Office:
2040 W. Main, Suite 110
Rapid City, SD 57702
Phone: 605-791-1515
Fax: 605-791-1915

 

JOHN F. PETOSKEY – Partner
Peshawbestown, Michigan
phone: 231-631-8558  (cell)
email: email me


Mr. Petoskey joined the firm as a partner in 2010.

TRIBAL AFFILIATION:  Mr. Petoskey is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Peshawbestown, Michigan.

PRACTICE AREAS: Tribal government; self-determination and self-governance; annual funding agreements; gaming law and development; reservation economic development; trial and appellate advocacy; tribal code development; Indian housing; Indian reservation roads; Indian commercial development; property acquisition via bond offering and finance; and taxation in Indian Country.

ADMISSIONS: Michigan; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuits; Western Federal District Court of Michigan; Federal District Court of New Mexico.

EDUCATION: University of New Mexico School of Law (J.D., 1979); Western Michigan University (B.A., 1976).

LEGAL EXPERIENCE : General Counsel for Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for 23 years; Appellate Brief Writer for the State of New Mexico in the Human Services area. (1985-87); Indian Legal Services in Michigan, New Mexico and Alaska.

LEGAL AUTHORSHIP: “Doing Business with Michigan Indian Tribes” 76 Mich. B. J. 440 (1997); “Indians and the First Amendment” in American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century, 221 (Vine Deloria, Jr. ed. 1985) (collection of essays).

REPRESENTATIVE CASES: GTB vs. U. S. Attorney, 369 F.3rd 960 (2004) was a major case that involved the issue of “restored lands” under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. 

ASSOCIATIONS: American Bar Association; Federal Bar Association.

As General Counsel for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Mr. Petoskey participated in all federal, state and tribal litigation and administrative hearings where the Tribe was a plaintiff or defendant. He also wrote the majority of GTB’s statutes published as the Grand Traverse Band Code. Mr. Petoskey participated in the original Michigan Indian gaming compact negotiations and litigation through the 1980s and 1990s and the tax negotiations of 2000-2004. Mr. Petoskey also participated in the post trial phase of U.S. vs. Michigan (Indian Treaty fishing). He also did several cases on Indian Country jurisdiction and Indian First Amendment rights (1979-1985).