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Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe puts hold on marijuana resort

Monday, November 9, 2015

The marijuana was resort was going in a building that housed the Royal River Family Entertainment Center in Flandreau, South Dakota. Image from Google Maps

The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota won't open a marijuana resort on December 31 as planned due to legal concerns at the state and federal level.

The tribe said it was burning all of the marijuana it had been growing for the facility. Officials plan to consult with the state and federal government before moving forward, attorney Seth C. Pearman said in a statement.

"The tribe intends to successfully participate in the marijuana industry, and tribal leadership is undaunted by this brief sidestep," the statement read.

Although officials remain optimistic, the decision is a major blow to the highly-anticipated launch of the facility, which was being built in a structure that houses the Royal River Family Entertainment Center on the reservation. The tribe was expecting a huge turnout for the opening on New Year's Eve and Indian Country was closely watching the project because it was going to be the first "resort" concept.

Yet there were serious doubts -- Attorney General Marty Jackley was warning non-Indians that they would face prosecution for using the drug on the reservation. He plans to talk with the tribe going forward.

Federal authorities haven't said anything publicly. But they have raided marijuana operations on two reservations in California and a hemp operation on a reservation in Wisconsin, calling into question the activities of any tribe that tries to enter the emerging industry.

The raids came despite a Department of Justice policy -- known as the 2014 Wilkinson memo -- that seemingly opened the door to legal marijuana in Indian Country.

With that in mind, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe voted 5-1 in June to legalize marijuana and approved a comprehensive set of laws and policies to address the sale and use of the drug but that apparently wasn't enough to dispel concerns about the operation.