Shakopee mdewakanton sioux community

For thousands of years the more than 600 indigenous nations on the North American continent governed themselves, negotiated treaties, managed their own affairs, and took care of their people. These Sovereign Nations each had, and continue to have, their own unique culture, language, history, and traditions.

Federal policies destroyed tribal economies and took millions of lives and hundreds of millions of acres of Indian lands in the 1800s. The federal government made thousands of treaties with Sovereign Tribal Nations when establishing a land base for the United States. These treaties established a nation-to-nation relationship between Indian tribes and the United States federal government. This is one specific recognition of tribal sovereignty.

Tribal government gaming is not a special privilege; rather, it is a direct result of tribal sovereignty. It is a right that tribes retained when they relinquished rights to their land. As sovereign governments, tribes cannot be taxed or bullied by other governments. All tribes retained their sovereignty, their powers of self-government over their lands and members.

After Indian people were confined to reservations in the latter half of the 19th century, they could no longer travel freely to support themselves and their families as they customarily did. Hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods off reservations was prohibited. Conditions of poverty, malnutrition, and ill health became widespread on Indian reservations across the country. In Minnesota, with the removal of Indians from their lands and dispossession of their land, property, and freedom after the Dakota War of 1862, conditions were particularly harsh. Many ideas were pursued by tribal leaders to help bring Indian people out of poverty, yet none were successful.

It wasn’t until Norman Crooks, first Chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, brought the idea of Indian Gaming to Minnesota in 1982 that living conditions began to change significantly for the better. Indian Gaming was the first idea which was successful as an economic tool for tribes to raise tribal government revenues to help their people.

As a result of Indian gaming, tribal governments are better able to provide clean water to drink, educational opportunities, social programs, health care and opportunities for bright futures. But most of all, Indian gaming is leading Indian people out of the mindset of poverty.

Although Indian Gaming is making a positive difference, there are still many unmet needs in Indian Country. To assist other tribes, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community over the last 15 years has committed more than half a billion dollars through loans and grants for developing infrastructures on other reservations.

Indian Gaming is a huge success. It is providing jobs for thousands of Minnesota residents.

• 78% of Minnesota Indian Gaming enterprise employees are non-Indian.
• Tribal governments and casinos are responsible for $1.35 billion in household income.
• Tribal payrolls totaled $576 million, and indirect activity generated an additional $774 million in wages.
• Tribal governments and casinos account for more than 20,500 direct jobs in their gaming and government operations.
• Another 21,150 jobs are indirectly supported through wages paid; goods, business and health care services purchased; and capital investments.
• More than 30,500 of those jobs (73 percent) are in rural Minnesota.
• Rural casinos account for more than $880 million annually in wages, $130 million in health care benefits, and $268 million in vendor spending.
• Tribal casinos spent $298 million statewide, while tribal governments spent another $241 million within Minnesota, to purchase everything from utilities to food and beverages, furniture, marketing and advertising, maintenance, and business services.
• More than 10,000 businesses in Minnesota benefit from tribal spending.
• Tribal gaming and governments provide essential medical and dental care to their employees and tribal members. Tribes spent $67 million on medical and dental insurance for gaming employees and their families, $23 million to cover tribal government employees, and an additional $57 million to cover tribal members not covered through family members, nearly all of it in rural Minnesota.
• In Minnesota tribal gaming revenues are spent: 28% on health care, 22% on government operations, 20% on education, 13% on housing/economic development, and 17% on human services/infrastructure.
• Tribal casinos and tribal governments purchase $539 million in goods and services each year.
• A total of $329 million was invested by tribes in capital projects, including casino and ancillary facilities, as well as tribal government infrastructure such as roads, water and waste treatment facilities, administrative and community buildings, recreation and fitness centers, retirement facilities for elders, justice centers for courts and law enforcement, museums and libraries.

Indian tribes operate casinos because they are sovereign governments under the U.S. Constitution. Even so, before they can open casinos, they must negotiate agreements—or compacts — with the state. Minnesota tribes were the first in the nation to negotiate gaming compacts with a state. Under Minnesota’s gaming compacts, tribes agreed to offer only two forms of casino-style gaming — video games of chance and blackjack. When the tribes agreed to offer only two forms of gaming, the state agreed to make the compacts perpetual, with no termination date. Now there are some in state government who want to go back on this promise.

There are several gambling expansion proposals currently under discussion and which may come before the Minnesota Legislature which could jeopardize the success of Indian Gaming. Over 26,000 jobs with good benefits are at stake.

It is our hope that if state legislators understand more fully the potential ramifications of any expansion of gaming, that they will make the right decision and leave unharmed these thousands of jobs in Minnesota.

The tribal governments in Minnesota oppose any expansion of gambling including the Canterbury racino proposal for many reasons. It comes down to this: adding slot machines to private businesses or state government would undoubtedly have a negative economic impact on all tribal government gaming facilities. Under any expansion of gambling, tribal governments throughout Minnesota would lose revenues, cut back operations, lay off workers, and generally lose the momentum they gained in the last 20 years, the first meaningful gains after over 200 years of genocide and poverty.

History is clear. Indian people were cheated and swindled and subjected to the near complete destruction of their way of life and culture. Tribal gaming has provided Indian people today the opportunity to address some of the by-products of those destructive efforts, but there are still huge unmet needs in Indian country: high rates of diabetes, alcoholism, and suicide rates, as well as inadequate housing and educational opportunities in many communities. Tribal gaming provides resources to tribal governments to combat some of these problems. And now there are some who want to cut into the tribes’ share of the gaming market and once again take from the Indians that which is beneficial. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and other tribal governments in Minnesota are opposed to any expansion of gambling because it would ultimately hurt tribal governments and harm thousands of jobs held by Indians and non-Indians alike.