Column: Mille Lacs woman stands up to governor

Monday, January 24, 2005  

"The impulse to share runs strong in Melanie Benjamin. Being one of 12 children from a poor family helps explain that. So does being a mother and grandmother. So does being Ojibwe.

But for the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, sharing has its limits. Gov. Tim Pawlenty asked her to step way over them last October, when he said he wants Minnesota's native tribes to provide the state with $350 million in casino revenues per year. By some estimates, that's more than a third of what all the casinos in the state take in after paying prizes, but before paying operating expenses.

Here's Benjamin's limit: 'I'll do everything I can to protect what we've built here,' she said, gesturing around her.

Around her was the cavernous convention hall of Grand Casino Mille Lacs, buzzing at lunchtime with about 1,000 of her band's members. They had gathered to hear her annual state of the band address, in which she advanced her latest idea for sharing casino bounty: the formation of a foundation by the state's successful Indian bands, to help Minnesota Indians who live in poverty."

Get the Story:
Lori Sturdevant: Gambling with the governor (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 1/23)
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