SD’s Indians’ Slot Machine Crisis

Representatives for South Dakota’s American Indian Tribes have a bone to pick with Governor Mike Rounds. They say they are being discriminated against, and that it has to end. They claim that the governor is doing everything he can to block slot machine and casino expansion for the tribes.

Their representative, Yankton Sioux Chairman Robert Cournoyer said that the governor does not want to see the tribe prosper. He said that the state’s officials “value economic development only for white people.” He said that slot machine casinos can provide money to finance non-gambling development projects, but that the state does not want to see the tribes do well.

Their complaint is that they have been negotiating with the governor for years to have more slot machines or larger casinos, but that he is negotiating in “bad faith.” The tribes held a special meeting to deal with the slot machine and gambling issues that they have been facing in the state, and were trying to decide if they are going to need to file federal lawsuits to get the slot machines.

They say the governor will not meet with the tribes to negotiate on their slot machine compact issues, instead he sends other state officials. He did not show up for Thursday’s meeting either, saying that he had a previous commitment.
 

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