The annual discussion regarding compact issues recently took place between the state of Iowa and the Omaha Tribe, which operates the Blackbird Bend Casino near Onawa. The tribe is based in Nebraska but due to shifts in the Missouri River, its reservation lands extend into Western Iowa. A major issue expected to be considered was the tribe’s recent approval of three referendums giving its tribal council the authority to legalize medical and recreational marijuana and grow plants for industrial hemp. Tribal leaders said Iowa was the most likely venue for the venture.
Rod Roberts, director of the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals, which deals directly with the three Native American tribes that have state gambling compacts, said prior to the meetings, “It will be interesting if they bring the topic up just to hear what they have to say about that.”
Tribal Chairman Vernon Miller said, “We needed to really gauge the opinions of the Omaha tribal members. We didn’t want to take action without their approval and their opinion. They are pretty controversial issues. We posed those questions to the people and they voted on all three and supported all three.” Now Miller said the tribe will move forward on a feasibility study on the proposed marijuana business.
The Iowa legislature has legalized limited access to marijuana-derived cannabidiol for medical use, but has not legalized recreational marijuana use. “The problem would be if anything would be done within the casino probably. But in terms of the reservation land, we may not have anything to say or do with the reservation because the compact is purely for gambling.” He added, “If there’s something seriously coming from the tribe, it will obviously have to go to the attorney general, it will be a legal question that needs to be addressed.”
Iowa Attorney General’s Office spokesman Geoff Greenwood said he was unaware of any current requests for legal advice pertaining to medicinal or recreational marijuana use on sovereign Indian land. “We’re aware of the Omaha tribe’s discussions through media reports, but the tribal council has not contacted our office. We’re researching the matter,” he said.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux in South Dakota recently burned its marijuana crop and suspended plans to open the nation’s first tribal marijuana resort after learning that federal officials possibly were planning a raid.
