Minnesota Tribes: Don't open doors to off-reservation casino

By passing the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, Congress intended to stimulate economic development and job creation on Indian reservations, which in turn would move tribal governments closer to self-sufficiency. Few people really expected Indian gaming to succeed, given the inexperience of tribes and the remote location of most reservations. However, tribal governments surprised the skeptics, building clean, well-managed, successful gaming operations that do exactly what they were intended to do — improve the lives of Indian people.

Congress also clearly intended to limit tribal gaming to reservation land and allowed off-reservation expansion only under very special circumstances. The Interior Department’s decision and its rationale suggest a dramatic change in policy far beyond the intent of IGRA.

Congress never expected or intended that all tribes, given their diverse geographic locations, would find equal success from tribal gaming operations. Historically, federal funding and other resources available to tribes have never been distributed equally. Because of factors such as location, size of land base, type of natural resources, and tribal population, some tribes have more resources available to them than other tribes.