Indians protest casino proposal - Patricia Lopez - Star Tribune

[mzmolly]

"Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposal for a metro casino partnership with three northern American Indian bands may have hit another obstacle Tuesday: the resistance of some band members, who say they will try to force the issue to referendum votes on each of the three reservations involved.

More than three dozen members of the Leech Lake, White Earth and Red Lake bands traveled to the Capitol to protest their tribal leaders' move for a joint state-tribal casino.

Wally Storbakken, a self-described "tribal activist" from Leech Lake, said that the proposal was "inherently bad" and that it would compromise the tribes' sovereignty.

"If the intent is to help the tribes," Storbakken said, "why is there such a high up-front licensing fee?" As part of the deal, the state is requiring the tribes to pay a $200 million licensing fee and take on most of the financial risk of running the casino. The tribes would own the casino, but the Minnesota State Lottery would own the 4,000 slot machines."

http://www.rlnn.com/ArtMar05/IndiansProtestCasinoProp.html