Tribal Leader Roundtable

We are located in California and are still trying to go through the compacting process for our gaming facility. It's been a lengthy process with the state.

Spirit of Aquai is a philosophy that guides our tribe and our businesses. It is a spirit of welcoming, cooperation, and mutual respect.

At the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC), we have been fortunate to have an incredible team helping us navigate the uncertainties of the pandemic. The past year has required a lot of flexibility, creativity and perseverance.

Self-sufficiency isn’t just about tribal government. It’s about the people. Strengthening the people has to be the priority in your businesses and your government.

Fortunately, we have a very experienced team that were involved in the development of our four casinos as well as several expansion projects along the way. That experience coupled with the new experience gained in managing a construction project during the pandemic, will continue to inform our operations going forward.

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 and its aftermath, our tribe and casino continue to be successful in addressing the needs and desires of our customer base on a day-to-day basis. As a result, we have been able to navigate the first four months of 2021 successfully.

Through a combination of official orders, broadcast briefings and personal appeals, the Seminole Tribe has been relentless in educating its members about the importance of staying home, social distancing, wearing face coverings, washing their hands and reporting the first COVID-19 symptoms.

We are working toward expanding our solar capabilities. Our initial goal is to ensure that the tribe is self-sustaining. Our next goal is to be able to produce energy for the grid.

Tribes are making difficult and dramatic choices to protect our communities, tribal citizens and employees’ health and safety from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

As positive test cases and mortality rates sharply decline, there is a better sense of public health and safety from our tribal members. Our government offices have shifted back to being fully opened to the public and our business entities have relaxed pandemic protocols that were put in place over a year ago.