Candace Schmidt, Chairwoman
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska
Prairie Flower Casino – Carter Lake, IA
prairieflowercasino.com / poncatribe-ne.gov
BENEFITS OF GAMING: I think what sets our gaming enterprise apart from non-Native casino operations is that we are not just another corporation – everything we do is to help build a nation and uplift our community members. Since opening our casino nearly six years ago, we are three steps closer to being self-sufficient. One huge initiative that we have targeted is revitalizing our language program. We have recently been able to expand our cultural department to add actual language instructors, which is instrumental in helping to recapture our language that was stolen from us through boarding schools.
Beyond tribal programs, our casino is an economic driver within the region. We serve as one of the largest employers in the greater community, providing jobs to local residents and undertaking major investments, including significant infrastructure improvements. We always find ways to give back by supporting local initiatives and donating to community organizations and causes. The tribe also helps support the local municipality itself, providing financial assistance to help with their needs, including supporting the police and fire departments.
GOALS & INITIATIVES: The Ponca Nation, since our restoration 34 years ago, has grown leaps and bounds. We continue to strive to maintain positive growth trends by looking toward the future within our economic enterprises, including our casino, and looking to diversify our portfolio. Healthcare is another area in which we have plans to grow by expanding our current healthcare operations within the Omaha area and to other areas where we have office locations or where there is an underserved Native population.
Over the last eight-plus years, we have also placed an emphasis on tourism and promoting our beautiful homelands in the Knox County area, specifically in Niobrara, NE. We recently expanded and rebuilt our powwow arena, adding several new additions and enhancements to our entire powwow grounds. In years past, we added an education trail, a statue of our Chief Standing Bear, a learning atrium, and we are in the planning stages of building a Chief Standing Bear Museum and Ponca Cultural Center there as well.
Food sovereignty and utilizing our traditional foods as medicine is another area we are focused on, as we were recently awarded grant dollars through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to aid in those efforts to build our own processing plant, allowing us to promote a more traditional and healthy diet through buffalo meat distribution. The sky truly is the limit; we are growing in all directions, and it is an exciting time for us.
LEGISLATIVE: Seeing that healthcare is one area we have plans to grow in, we are always tracking any movement involving Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. All of these healthcare options are extremely important for us, as they provide much-needed health coverage for not only our membership, but also for other Native Americans and non-Natives who have no other means to help cover their healthcare costs. A healthy population benefits all of us. These programs also help sustain health clinics, nursing homes, and hospitals.
The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska supports shifting the Indian Health Service budget to mandatory funding in fiscal year 2026 to address the tribe’s growing costs of providing direct healthcare services.
Maintaining and strengthening the Indian Child Welfare Act is always on our radar as well.