A Twin Cities-area Indian tribe is helping the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe develop a restaurant and marina on Shingobee Island near Walker.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community recently awarded the Leech Lake Band a $1 million economic development grant for the project.
The SMSC previously gave Leech Lake $1 million to help build a gas station at the Northern Lights Casino near Walker, Minn., and renovate the White Oak Casino in Deer River; $1 million for the tribal college, Heritage Sites Program, scholarship program and insurance trust fund; and $500,000 to buy a well-drilling truck and equipment.
"The Shakopee Mdewakanton Community has a historic tradition of helping those who are less fortunate," SMSC Chairman Stanley R. Crooks said in a statement released Tuesday announcing the grant. "We have made a commitment to help other tribes whenever we can."
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community owns and operates Mystic Lake Casino. It has donated more than $72 million to charitable organizations and tribes over the past several years.
