More than 500 residents and local public officials recently attended a public forum with officials from the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe and the board of West Lakeland Township, Minnesota. Residents expressed concerns about a 112-acre parcel the tribe purchased in 2015.
Tribal Council President Shelley Buck explained the tribe notified the township, county and school district that it had applied to the federal government to have the land taken into trust, and as a result would pay federal tax on the property, but not local or state taxes. Buck explained the tribe develops cooperative agreements with neighboring counties and local governments for joint services for its current lands, but the tribe would be responsible for its own governance, policing and other public services. With 960 members, the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota is the smallest tribe in the state; all members are descended from four sisters who settled on Prairie Island. Its Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Goodhue County has 1,500 employees.
At the public meeting, Buck said, “We are here to start building relationships , for us to get to know you and for you to get to know us.” The tribal council answered questions from the board and gave a presentation about their history, culture and plans for the 112 acres the tribe purchased in West Lakeland Township under a 2003 settlement between the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and the Prairie Island Indian Community.
The settlement—state statute 216B.1645 Subd. 4—said Xcel Energy must pay the tribe up to $2.5 million a year in part to acquire up to 1,500 contiguous or non-contiguous acres of land in Minnesota within 50 miles of the tribal community’s reservation at Prairie Island. The land purchased could be taken into trust by the federal government for the benefit of the tribal community for housing and other residential purposes. The tribe purchased the land because its reservation is located near Xcel Energy, which stores its high-level radioactive nuclear waste on-site since the federal government stopped storing waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada in 2011. Buck told the crowd more than 39 storage casks with 1.9 million pounds of radioactive waste are stored on the site, 600 yards away from their homes.
As a result, Buck said, in the future the majority of the tribe may not live on the island. She said only 25 percent of the tribe’s 960 members live on the reservation. “As part of our culture, we are taught that we make decisions for the next seven generations. We are tapped out on buildable land.” Buck added the tribe, which recently finished a $19 million expansion at its Treasure Island Resort and Casino and just broke ground on another $85 million expansion–was considering using the land for housing and smaller retail. But she added they would not rule out any future opportunity, such as a casino.
Before the meeting, the group Citizens Advocating Responsible Development circulated a flyer claiming a tribal casino or hotel would lower home values and lead to “gambling addictions,” increased crime and congestion. Buck addressed the flyer at the meeting, stating it’s misleading and “fuels concerns and fears. This is very offensive and racist,” Buck said.
Council Vice President Lucy Taylor said the tribe has worked hard to prevent drug and gang activity. “I can’t understand it. It’s very upsetting,” she said.
Minnesota currently has gaming compacts with all 11 tribes in the state, and 17 casinos operate under a Class III compact.
