The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians officially opened its tribal police substation in South Bend Monday.

Located at 2906 Prairie Ave., the substation is 4,680 square feet of space for up to 12 law enforcement officers. The substation sits near the sovereign land of the tribal village and Four Winds South Bend on the city’s southwest side.

Tribal police officers have been on duty on and around the Pokagon sovereign land since it was taken into trust in November 2016. The opening of the substation now provides a facility for officers to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Once fully staffed, the substation will house one lieutenant, two sergeants, eight officers and a detective. The substation also provides space for St. Joseph County Sheriff’s deputies and South Bend Police officers, with whom tribal police will work cooperatively to improve public safety.

The tribal police entered into a cross deputation agreement with St. Joseph County Police in 2015. The agreement, the first of its kind in the state of Indiana, helps cover jurisdictional gaps in law enforcement when there is tribal land near or within another jurisdiction like St. Joseph County.

With this agreement, each police department can enforce its laws in the other jurisdiction and better collaborate with improved technology, shared training, and the day-to-day business of police work.

The Pokagon Tribal Police are also cross deputized in Van Buren, Berrien and Cass counties in Michigan.

“Our tribal police serve as our protectors. On their badges are images of the bear.  For Potawatomi people, the bear clan is responsible for village protection,” said John P. Warren, chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. “Opening the tribal police substation in our village is an important step in reestablishing our homeland in Indiana.”

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ sovereignty was reaffirmed under legislation signed into law by President Clinton in September of 1994. The Pokagon Band is dedicated to providing community development initiatives such as housing, education, family services, medical care and cultural preservation for its approximately 5,000 citizens, officials said.

The Pokagon Band’s 10-county service area includes four counties in southwestern Michigan and six in northern Indiana. Its main administrative offices are located in Dowagiac, with a satellite office in South Bend.

In 2007, it opened Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, followed by Four Winds Hartford in 2011 and Four Winds Dowagiac in 2013. Four Winds South Bend will open in early 2018.

It owns and operates a variety of business via Mno-Bmadsen, the tribe’s non-gaming investment enterprise.

More information is available at pokagonband-nsn.gov, fourwindscasino.com and mno-bmadsen.com.