Sioux Valley and partners sign MOU for casinoSioux Valley and partners sign MOU for casino
Story by The Canadian Press •
SIOUX VALLEY DAKOTA NATION — Three Westman Nations are taking economic reconciliation into their own hands by signing a memorandum of understanding to open a casino on land owned by Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.
On Friday, Sioux Valley Chief Vince Tacan and his council met with Chief Raymond Brown of Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation, while Chief Don Smoke of Dakota Plains First Nation joined the meeting via video call.
The proposed site would be near Sioux Valley’s Petro-Can station on the corner of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 21, about 38 kilometres west of Brandon.
Having a casino that is owned by all three First Nations — with Sioux Valley owning 34 per cent and the other First Nations 33 per cent each — will greatly enhance their ability to provide employment for their young people and will bring about other benefits such as revenue streams and spinoff businesses like a convention centre and hotel, Tacan said.
“It’s going to give our people a chance to take our place at the table when we talk about small business training and those kinds of things,” he said. “It’s going to open the door not only to our youth here in Sioux Valley, but from the participating communities.”
Each First Nation will be responsible in its own way for the success of the project, Tacan said, with Sioux Valley taking care of political negotiations, feasibility and logistics, and Dakota Plains and Canupawakpa providing political, financial and human resources support.
With the MOU signed, the next phase of making the casino a reality is to develop a feasibility study and work with the province to get a gaming licence, he said, adding that a unanimous shareholder agreement will also have to be put in place to cover matters governing the setup and running of the casino.
Contacted by the Sun on Friday, Glen Simard, Brandon East MLA and minister responsible for the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, said his government “was proud to lift the gaming pause” on new facilities instituted by the former PC government in 2018.
“We look forward to receiving this proposal and to continue our ongoing conversations with a number of stakeholders from across Manitoba,” Simard said.
Tacan said the three First Nations will meet with the province to discuss the casino project in two weeks, and he will keep the community informed as things progress.
Tacan said he and his councillors have been mulling over the idea of developing a casino on land they purchased near the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 21 as something that would create a new economic base for their community. After careful consideration, he said, this land proved to be the only viable option for a casino.
From there, he said, Sioux Valley representatives discussed the idea with councils from Canupawakpa and Dakota Plains, and a strong team was formed that was determined to work together for the betterment of all three communities. The three First Nations are united, he said, due to the fact that they aren’t a part of any other tribal councils.
“We all face the same difficulties in our communities, we’re all struggling with different things and resources, so this is something that’s going to help us.”
It’s possible the casino could provide employment opportunities for young people from the communities surrounding Sioux Valley as well, he added.
Sioux Valley has a good track record when it comes to developing businesses, Tacan said, giving the Petro-Can station as an example.
“With that experience and with the lessons learned on that, I think we’re well positioned to move forward and successfully complete a casino project and any other project that comes along,” he said.
Brown said he is excited for his community to be part of the plans for the casino.
“We as Dakota people don’t have much of anything. You look around and see that we don’t have business and tribal councils,” Brown said.
“We are here, too. These are our lands, too,” he added.
“I’m very happy we’re moving forward.”
Smoke was equally excited to be on board the project, and said partnerships were the key for his First Nation to succeed.
“We’ve tried everything we could out here within our own area,” Smoke said. “However, our market is just not there, our traffic is not there. We don’t have enough people in the area to benefit from economic development, so partnerships are the key for us.”
When the federal government moved the Dakota people onto reserves during colonization, they were put on land that was not economically viable or conveniently located, which made them dependent on government for their survival, Smoke said.
“We still refuse to conform to what the government wants. As Dakotas, we’re still defiant. We haven’t given away any of our rights, any of our resources, any of our minerals, and I think it is a way of getting back to a healthier community and attempting to realize a better future for our children and for our families.”
Of all the First Nations in Canada, only two are located along the Trans-Canada Highway, Tacan said, adding it shows that Indigenous peoples were not positioned to be participants in the economies of their respective provinces. The casino project would be an important part of economic reconciliation, which is part of the larger process of truth and reconciliation taking part across the province and the country, he said.
“I’m hoping … that we can finally participate in our local economy, that we can bring some tourism and opportunity and a little bit of optimism for the people in our area.”