The Prairie Island Indian Community negotiated and signed two compacts with the state of Minnesota authorizing two types of casino games: video games of chance (1988) and blackjack (1991), and Treasure Island Resort & Casino was soon in operation. Minnesota tribes were among the first to act. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was enacted by the United States Congress on October 17, 1988, to regulate gaming on Indian Lands and promote “tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments.” Those roots spread quickly when in 1988 the federal government recognized the sovereign right of tribes to operate gaming on their lands. For the first time, the Tribe had an economic engine to drive its economy, and the roots of self-sufficiency started to grow on Prairie Island. Gaming got its start on Prairie Island in 1984 when our Tribal Council authorized the play of high stakes bingo. Tribal gaming has transformed not just the Prairie Island Indian Community but all of Indian Country it is our new buffalo, providing tribes with the economic means to be self-sufficient governments.

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