American Indian tribe offers grants to Wisconsin local governments

With growing profits from its gambling halls, a northern Wisconsin Indian tribe is offering $100,000 in grants to neighboring local governments to use for everything from police work to road repairs. The grants are the result of a new gambling agreement the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians negotiated with the state in 2003. Under the deal, the tribe gets to deduct the grant money from the amount the tribe owes to the state, starting in 2008, Tribal President Bob Chicks said Friday. "Obviously, gaming has meant a lot to the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe," he said. "Over the past few years, we have reached a good level of economic success." Chicks thinks the tribe will get plenty of requests. He acknowledges that in the era before casinos, cash-strapped tribes were more likely to apply for government grants rather than offer them. "It does speak well to the economic success for the tribe," Chicks said. The tribe, with about 1,500 members, is headquartered in Bowler, about 40 miles east of Wausau. Local governments can use the tribal grants for services such as law enforcement, roads, fire departments, educational programs, computer-technical equipment, water and sewer improvements or projects that promote intergovernmental cooperation or sharing governmental resources, Chicks said. The state's compacts with the 11 tribes with casinos allow them to offer Las Vegas-style gambling in exchange for payments to the state.  The state expects to receive roughly $100 million annually from the tribes under the compacts. [more]