The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa recently presented to the Grand Forks, North Dakota city council’s Finance/Development Committee a plan to develop an off-reservation casino. The tribe made a similar proposal in 2004, and a resolution to proceed adopted by the tribe and the city council in 2005, but efforts to make the casino reality faded due to lack of support from the city and state.
Council member Doug Christensen noted the earlier resolution “has not been rescinded, and that resolution says we’re interested in working with the tribe. He asked Tribal Chairman Richard McCloud how the current casino proposal differed from the previous plan. McCloud responded that gambling is viewed differently now. “It’s entertainment,” he said.
McCloud noted Turtle Mountain is the largest tribe in North Dakota but also the poorest, with 67 percent unemployment on its reservation near the Canadian border. The majority the tribe’s income is from its Sky Dancer casino located on the reservation. McCloud said the new casino would attract people who drive to nearby Minnesota casinos and help the Grand Forks economy as well as the tribe’s.
Council President Hal Gershman said the next step would involve public input. He told McCloud, “I want to have a public dialogue, and I think you do, too.” McCloud said the tribal government will prepare a more detailed business plan at a future council meeting.
