"Good deeds, such as the Shakopee tribe's gift to the University of Minnesota's new football stadium, deserve not be punished. No, they should called what they are -- a generous manifestation of the gambling monopoly handed to indigenous tribes by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, then furthered in Minnesota by then-Attorney General Skip Humphrey in 1989, on the watch of a hands-off Gov. Rudy Perpich. The largest single gift to the athletic department ($12.5 million) derives from those untaxed tribal gambling proceeds, much of it plucked from the poor, sort of a tax on down-on-their-luck jackpot-dreamers and gamblers of babies' shoes and the rent money. Choices are being made, perhaps pathologically for some, afflicted with an urge to win or to escape reality in a clockless casino where the house always wins; that's guaranteed. The Star Tribune's editorial ("Shakopee tribes' gift is jackpot for U," Oct. 22) exclaims, without foreboding or a hint of shame, that it's "unfortunate that some critics have used the [Shakopee tribes' gift] to reignite debate over non-Indian gambling in Minnesota." What? Debate is usually a good thing. Truth tends to emerge, if it's lucky. Don't look now, but the Mdewakanton Sioux Community's tax-free casino monopoly in the Twin Cities is maintained by politicians of a certain stripe." Get the Story:
Gary Larson: Look at the monopoly that enabled the gift (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/25)
pwlat Relevant Links:
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community - http://www.ccsmdc.org Related Stories:
Editorial: Shakopee Tribe's gift benefits many (10/23)
Shakopee Tribe donates $12.5M to university (10/19)
Shakopee Tribe crosses $100M mark in donations (10/03)
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Shakopee Tribe donates furniture to tribes (4/11)
Red Lake Nation receives $1M Shakopee grant (4/10)
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Omaha Tribe receives $4M from Shakopee Tribe (03/06)
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Shakopee Tribe donates $500K to medical center (11/22)
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BIA rescinds Shakopee land-into-trust decision (07/19)
BIA approves Shakopee land-into-trust application (7/11)
Shakopee Tribe's trust land bid still a sore issue (05/31)
Shakopee Tribe records 19.7 percent job increase (03/06)
Shakopee Tribe's trust land stirs controversy (02/13)
Opinion: Shakopee Tribe wrong to attack county (02/09)
Shakopee Tribe shares wealth with Indian Country (02/08)
Shakopee Tribe shares $56.5M with fellow tribes (10/10)
Three wealthy tribes set up charity endowment (03/22)
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Shakopee Tribe working with city on trust land deal (07/14)
Shakopee vice-chair among many to view Reagan (06/11)
Small Minnesota tribe improving way of life (05/26)
Tribal Leaders: Shakopee Tribe shares the wealth (04/14)
For Shakopee Tribe, 2003 was a year of giving (01/07)
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Small Minn. tribe spreads wealth to Indian Country (11/17)
