News

Minnesota tribal leaders join hundreds of their counterparts from across the nation today at the 6th annual White House Tribal Nations Conference hosted by President Barack Obama. Tribal officials will advise the President and several Cabinet members on the most pressing challenges facing their communities, including rampant unemployment, high violent crime rates, and failing schools. (more…)

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, which announced the purchase of two St. Paul hotels over the past year as part of its economic diversification strategy, has acquired a third hotel property, this one an Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City. The Band issued the following news release on the acquisition: (more…)

A gaming website is reporting that the Attorney General for the State of California has filed a federal lawsuit to stop the online bingo program recently launched by the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel. The online source, CaliforniaOnlinePoker.com, said the lawsuit was filed on November 18, and claims that the tribe’s action in conducting online bingo violates state and federal law, as well as its compact with the state because the gaming is offered to bettors not located on tribal land. (more…)

A November 18 article in The New Yorker suggests that the huge expansion of state-sponsored casinos in recent years may have saturated the gaming market and left many states scrambling to cover budget holes created by declining casino revenues. (more…)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy Policy (OIEP) is reporting that a tribally owned energy company has signed a landmark wind energy deal to provide 140 megawatts of wind power to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The energy will come from a wind farm in Northern Illinois. (more…)

A September 25 summit meeting at Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Tower brought tribal, county and state officials together to collaborate on ways to address the crisis facing Indian children in Minnesota, according to Bois Forte Chairman Kevin Leecy. (more…)

Nine Native American students from Indian nations across the midwest have received scholarships from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of Minnesota, the tribe announced today. The scholarship program is designed to recruit and retain talented American Indian students with demonstrated financial need.The group includes four students from Minnesota tribes, three from Wisconsin, one from South Dakota and one from   North Dakota. (more…)

The Vice-Chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) has been honored by the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) with one of its most prestigious leadership awards. Keith Anderson received the John Kieffer Spirit of Sovereignty Award from NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr. on September 9 at the organization’s mid-year meeting in Oklahoma. (more…)

The Duluth News Tribune is reporting that the University of Minnesota Board of Regents has approved the creation of a bachelor’s degree program in tribal administration at the University’s Duluth campus (UMD). The action follows creation in 2011 of a master’s degree program in the same field. Both programs are firsts in the nation. (more…)

In the wake of several major casino closings in Atlantic City, New Jersey leaders, including Governor Chris Christie, are “hoping sports betting can end Atlantic City’s losing streak,” according to a September 9 article in the Washington Post. The  article reports that the Governor’s office has filed a motion in U.S. District Court and issued a statewide “directive” that would allow casinos and racetracks to offer sports betting “without fear of criminal or civil liability.” (more…)