The Prairie Island Indian Community, owners of Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Welch, Minnesota, is seeking to expand to Pine Island, where it purchased 1,500 acres in January. Tribal Council President Shelley Buck said, “Here in Prairie Island we deal with what we call the trifecta,” including proximity to a nuclear power plant, frequent flooding and limited access points.
“One reliable road we have, on and off, is blocked multiple times a day by train tracks and trains coming through, We need a safe place to live, a safe place for our people to move back here who want to be part of the community, but can’t,” Buck said.
The tribe has a list of nearly 200 people who want to live on the Prairie Island reservation but there’s no room, she said. Pine Island could accommodate about 2,000-3,000 people. Following a recent meeting of the Rochester city council where the tribe asked it to support its plans, Council President Randy Staver said, “Based on federal law, they can’t just add any new land to the reservation, and the case they’re making is the current reservation property is land-locked and can’t accommodate the entirety of their population. Only about 30 percent, in fact.”
The council tabled the resolution for support to get more information regarding the tribe’s plans for the property. Buck noted the potential sovereignty of the Pine Island property is based on a land settlement claim. The tribe is seeking compensation for land it said was illegally taken from them.
Buck said the tribe plans to apply to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to have the land taken into federal trust, which could take years. “Until it gets into trust, we really have no timeline, so whenever it gets finished, it gets finished,” Buck said. She added, “Any time tribes buy land, first thing people think is casino. You’re going to put in a casino. Tribes are more than a casino. We’re a lot more than a casino,” Buck said.
Even if the Pine Island land is taken into trust, she said many tribe members will continue to live at Prairie Island and the Treasure Island Resort and Casino will remain there.
