FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) — The Santee Sioux tribe has already proven its business acumen, running a successful casino, a 120-room hotel and a 240-head buffalo ranch on the plains of South Dakota.

But those enterprises have not been immune to competition and the lingering effects of the Great Recession, so the small tribe of 400 is undertaking a new venture — opening the nation’s first marijuana resort on its reservation. The experiment could offer a new money-making model for tribes nationwide seeking economic opportunities beyond casinos.

Santee Sioux leaders plan to grow their own pot and sell it in a smoking lounge that includes a nightclub, arcade games, bar and food service, and eventually, slot machines and an outdoor music venue.

“We want it to be an adult playground,” tribal President Anthony Reider said. “There’s nowhere else in American that has something like this.”

May 06, 2017  Flandreau tribe, state, clash in court. Lynn Port plays a slot machine at the Royal River Casino in Flandreau, S.D., Tuesday, June 28, 2011. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe sued the state in.

The project, according to the tribe, could generate up to $2 million a month in profit, and work is already underway on the growing facility. The first joints are expected to go on sale Dec. 31 at a New Year’s Eve party.

The legalization of marijuana on the Santee Sioux land came in June, months after the Justice Department outlined a new policy that allows Indian tribes to grow and sell marijuana under the same conditions as some states.

Many tribes are hesitant to jump into the pot business. And not everyone in Flandreau, about 45 miles north of Sioux Falls, believes in the project. But the profit potential has attracted the interest of many other tribes, just as the debut of slot machines and table games almost 27 years ago.

“The vast majority of tribes have little to no economic opportunity,” said Blake Trueblood, business development director at the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. For those tribes, “this is something that you might look at and say, ‘We’ve got to do something.’”

Flandreau’s indoor marijuana farm is set against a backdrop of soybean fields. If not for a security booth outside, the building could pass as an industrial warehouse.

Inside, men are working to grow more than 30 different strains of the finicky plant, including those with names like “Gorilla Glue,” ″Shot Glass” and “Big Blue Cheese.”

Pot is prone to mildew and mold, picky about temperature and pH level and intolerant to tap water. So the Santee Sioux have hired Denver-based consulting firm Monarch America to teach them the basics.

Tribal leaders from across the country and South Dakota legislators will tour the Flandreau facility in mid-October.

“This is not a fly-by-night operation,” said Jonathan Hunt, Monarch’s vice president and chief grower. Tribal leaders “want to show the state how clean, how efficient, how proficient, safe and secure this is as an operation. We are not looking to do anything shady.”

Elsewhere, crews have begun transforming a bowling alley into the resort.

A marijuana resort open to the public has never been tried in the U.S. Even in states such as Colorado and Washington, where pot is fully legal, consumption in public places is generally forbidden, although pro-pot activists are seeking to loosen those restrictions. Colorado tolerates a handful of private marijuana clubs.

Unlike the vast reservations in western South Dakota, where poverty is widespread, the little-known Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation is on 5,000 acres of gently rolling land along the Big Sioux River. Trailer homes are scarce and houses have well-trimmed lawns.

The Santee Sioux hope to use pot in the same way that many tribes rely on casinos — to make money for community services and to provide a monthly income to tribal members. The existing enterprises support family homes, a senior living community, a clinic and a community center offering afterschool programs.

Reider hopes marijuana profits can fund more housing, an addiction treatment center and an overhaul of the clinic. Some members want a 24/7 day care center for casino workers.

The prosperity that marijuana could bring to Indian Country comes with huge caveats. The drug remains illegal under federal law, and only Congress can change its status. The administration that moves into the White House in 2017 could overturn the Justice Department’s decision that made marijuana cultivation possible on tribal lands.

Meanwhile, tribes must follow strict security measures or risk the entire operation.

The marijuana cannot leave the reservation, and every plant in Flandreau’s growing facility will have a bar code. After being harvested and processed, it will be sold in sealed 1-gram packages for $12.50 to $15 — about the same price as the illegal market in Sioux Falls, according to law enforcement. Consumers will be allowed to buy only 1 gram — enough for two to four joints — at a time.

Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation

Want another gram? The bar-coded package of the first gram must be returned at the counter.

Since the Santee Sioux announced their plans, the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine signed a letter of intent with Monarch to build a cultivation facility for industrial hemp. The Suquamish Tribe and Washington state officials signed a 10-year agreement that will govern the production, processing and sale of pot on the tribe’s land.

In the long run, Reider is certain that the benefits will outweigh the risks of tribal marijuana enterprises.

The tribe, he said, must “look at these opportunities because in order to preserve the past we do have to advance in the present.”

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Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNO .

The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe are a federally recognized tribe of Santee Dakota people. Their reservation is the Flandreau Indian Reservation. The tribe are members of the Mdewakantonwan people, one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota originally from central Minnesota.

In 1934, the Tribe was recognized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Today the Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation is located on 5,000 acres (20 km²) of land in South Dakota. Notable tribal member Chief Little Crow participated in the Dakota War of 1862.

Tribal information[edit]

• Reservation: Flandreau Reservation; in Moody County, South Dakota
• Division: Santee
• Bands: Mdewakanton, Wahpekute
• Land Area: 5000 acres (without boundaries)
• Tribal Headquarters: Flandreau, South Dakota
• Time Zone: Central
• Traditional Language: Dakota
• Enrolled members living on reservation: 726
• Major Employers: Flandreau Indian School, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, Royal River Casino

Tribal government[edit]

• Charter: Yes; Constitution and Bylaws: Yes - IRA
• Date Approved: April 24, 1936
• Name of Governing Body: Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Council
• Executive Committee: (4) President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and 4 additional Trustees who are elected by the tribal members. Tribal Treasurer is appointed.
• Dates of Constitutional amendments: October 16, 1967, November 14, 1984, May 23, 1990, May 13, 1997

Tribal elections[edit]

• Primary Election is at least forty-five days prior to the general election and General Election is held in conjunction with the August General Council meeting.
• Number of Election districts or communities: 1
• Executive Officers and Trustees serve four year terms. Trustee terms of office are staggered.

Tribal council meetings[edit]

• Quorum number: Executive Committee: 4 Executive members.
• General Council meetings must have fifty percent of qualified voters. General Council meeting are the first Saturday of February, May, August, and November of each year. Executive Committee holds meetings at least once a month established by the President.

Education and media[edit]

• Newspaper: Moody County Enterprise, Flandreau, SD

Notable tribal members[edit]

• Chief Little Crow (1810-1863) spent much of his life in Minnesota, where he was the head of a Santee band. Little Crow, a bold and passionate orator, established himself as a spokesman for his people. After becoming chief around 1834, he sought justice for his people, but also tried to maintain relations with the whites. In 1862, he led the fight now known as the Minnesota Santee Conflict. In fact, this war was launched only in the face of starvation and only after the federal government didn't present land payments as promised. Little Crow was killed the following year. He is buried near Flandreau.

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe Enrollment

Legalization of cannabis[edit]

In mid-2015, the Tribe stated their intent to begin growing cannabis on one authorized site on their reservation, and commence selling the product on 1 January 2016, following a vote of tribal authorities which decided 5–1 to legalize cannabis.^[1]

References[edit]

1. ^Garcia, Regina (2015-06-17). 'South Dakota Indian tribe plans to sell marijuana by Jan. 1'. Thecannabist.co. Retrieved 2015-07-12.