Gaming revenues represent 75 percent of the $30 million budget for the
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
Indians but the Michigan tribe is hoping to change that.
The tribe recently formed the Waseyabek Development Company to start pursuing new economic opportunities. The tribe also operates Skasge, a solar energy firm that provides power to the FireKeepers Casino, which added a hotel and convention center in order to attract non-gaming business.
“If we were to put all our eggs in one sector like Detroit and the car industry, when the economy caches a cold, Michigan catches pneumonia,” Chairman Homer A. Mandoka told The New York Times. “You can’t diversify your economy if you don’t have funds or don’t have access to funds."
The tribe, whose federal status was confirmed by an act of Congress, is also buying land with its gaming revenues.
Get the Story:
Indian Tribes Look Beyond Casinos for Income
(The New York Times 10/24)
As their Casinos Mature, Native American Tribes Take up New Investments
(WMUK 4/20)