Indian Casino Tribe Members Paid $1 Million Each Per Year
August 13, 2012 12:04 pmAfter a series of treaty violations by the United States, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 lead to slaughter and removal of the Dakota tribes from their lands. Up until the 1960’s the tribes were still living in harsh conditions and in receipt of government food rations. By 1969 their fortunes began to change with the introduction of the Indian New Deal legislation returning lands and paving the way for local self-government.
In present times,however, one of the Dakota tribes, known as The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC), still has 99% unemployment, but in this case more by choice than force. That’s because since opening its Mystic Lake and Little Six Casinos, the tribe has
gone from strength to strength with each member of tribe’s 480 strong community entitled to a share of the casinos annual profits.
For the tribe whose reservation is located 45 minutes southwest of Minneapolis-St Paul, that amount works out to around $84,000 a month, or $1.08 million each year per person, making them the richest tribe in American history.
Tribal revenues generated between the Mystic Lake and the Little Six Casino is believed to total around $1.4billion, and now tribal members enjoy multiple homes, sending their children to private schools, vacations and expensive hobbies, such as thoroughbred horse breeding.
Nevertheless, as well as their wealth, the Shakopee people are equally well known for their incredible sense of community and generosity having donated more than $243million to worthy causes since 1996, including $12.5 million to Minnesota University. In addition, the Shakopee have lent out nearly $500 million during that time, including assisting other Indian tribes who ran into difficulty during the financial crisis and were unable to secure loans for their operations.
Commenting on the philosophy and ethos of The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community, SMSC Chairman Stanley R. Crooks summed things up nicely when he said: “As Dakota people, we have a long tradition of sharing with others, so it is important for us to give back to the larger community. Before Indian gaming, many of us lived in poverty and struggled to survive. Times were hard. Now we are able to help others.”