Pawlenty, 3 Indian bands discuss casino

By Pat Doyle

Star Tribune

Months after he irked prosperous Indian tribes by asking them to share casino profits with the state, Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday traveled to northwestern Minnesota to talk with three poor Chippewa bands about a possible partnership with the state in a future Twin Cities casino.

"We did explore some general ideas and concepts about gaming partnerships," Pawlenty said after a lunch of fry bread tacos in the town of White Earth. "We agreed to continue to talk and visit about those concepts and hope those discussions will continue here over the next couple of weeks."

The governor met with officials of the Leech Lake, White Earth and Red Lake Chippewa, the state's most populous bands, who own casinos on large, remote reservations. Those casinos are smaller and less profitable than those run by some Dakota tribes in or near the metro area.

The three Chippewa bands have been pushing for an urban casino that would share profits with the state. A proposal by Red Lake and White Earth to start one never made it through the Legislature last year, but has been revised and now includes Leech Lake.

Pawlenty said any partnership would involve the three bands owning and operating the casino. That possibility was greeted with skepticism Thursday by the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA), which has member tribes that oppose a state-tribal casino. They include the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota, owners of Mystic Lake casino, and the Prairie Island Dakota, owners of Treasure Island casino.

These are two of the wealthier bands in the state. MIGA said White Earth, Red Lake and Leech Lake can't afford to build a casino without outside investors, such as Las Vegas casino interests, a prospect that will likely generate political resistance.

"I can see no other group out there that would be interested in doing this," said John McCarthy, MIGA's executive director. "You're talking about three financially-strapped tribes. Nobody is going to give them the money without a very strong management group."

The governor and officials of the three Chippewa bands said they had not reached a decision about becoming casino partners. The idea is one of several to expand gambling that is expected to be considered by legislators this session, including putting a non-tribal casino at Canterbury Park racetrack.

Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, a Republican who favors a state-authorized casino at Canterbury, conceded Thursday that the alternative involving the three Chippewa bands might have a better chance of being approved because it would appeal to legislators who have resisted bids to expand gambling but are sympathetic to helping poor tribes.

The bands talked with Pawlenty about other issues of importance to their reservations, including education, employment and health care, and the governor toured a White Earth reservation health clinic and a school.

"I think we are on the same page with understanding many of the challenges, including the initiatives on gaming," said Erma Vizenor, chairwoman of the White Earth Chippewa, who called the governor's visit historic. "We're on the same page; the words may change some."

Red Lake Tribal Council secretary Judy Roy said the bands are optimistic that they can deal with the state "in a way that will be mutually beneficial. ..."

Leech Lake, which embraced the concept last year, is "interested in any and all proposals that the governor and his staff bring forward," saidTribal Council director Lenny Ross.

Pawlenty last year proposed that state tribes pay $350 million annually in return for protection from future competition, as well as the possibility of being given permission to offer other games and to open casinos at other sites. He suggested that the state might invite Las Vegas casino interests to invest in a Minnesota casino or otherwise authorize expanded gambling if the tribes did not make the payments.

Tribes denounced the plan. "Our community will not negotiate under direct threat," said the Prairie Island Dakota in Red Wing, calling Pawlenty's idea "a non-starter" that would "destroy tribal self-sufficiency."

Criticism also came from the Mille Lacs Ojibwe, owners of Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley, which had broken ranks with some tribes to propose a joint partnership with the state that would give it money in return for new casino games and simulcast horse-race betting.