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[source: NativeNews; Fri, 11 Feb 2000 09:24:34]

Santee gas station, grocery store face closing due to fines
on tribe
http://www.journalstar.com/stories/neb/sto7

SANTEE (AP) -- The Santee Sioux Reservation's only gas
station and its grocery store could be forced to close
because of federal fines against the tribe over its casino,
tribal officials said. The tribe hopes to find people to
lease the stores in order to keep them open.

A $6,000 daily fine levied against the tribe by a federal
court is cutting into the cash flow on the Santee
Reservation in northeast Nebraska.

Mike Crosley, president of tribal economic development, said
because government officials "continue to seize any and all
of our bank accounts, we are faced with closing the Santee
Grocery." "The same is true of our only gas station, which
has operated in town for many years. The tribe can't have
the controlling interest anymore, because they take every
dime we make," Crosley said.

Federal and state officials say the casino is illegal,
because Nebraska does not allow casino gambling.

The tribe argues that it can operate the casino as a
sovereign nation on its reservation. The tribe says it is
being discriminated against by the state, which has
sanctioned a state-sponsored lottery and other forms of
legal gambling such as keno, pickle cards, bingo and horse
racing.

The grocery store is next door to the controversial Ohiya
Casino. The Santee store operates seven days a week with two
employees and manager Rodney Whitney, who also manages the
gas station.

Whitney said the store's operations suffered with the Oct.
27 federal seizure of tribal funds. The store operates on a
cash basis with all suppliers.

"We have no checking account and operate on limited
inventory, which doesn't make customers happy," Whitney
said. "We have had to stop all charging and can only accept
local checks, and those I have to personally go around and
collect." Whitney said he hopes the tribe will find someone
to lease the grocery store and gas station by March 1.

He said would he like to continue to manage the store. "But
I don't think I can financially swing it along with all
other obligations of being a businessmen in a small town. It
would take about $5,000 to restock the shelves," he said.

In addition to the federal court seizing $183,000 of tribal
assets within the past 45 days, the tribe was subpoenaed to
produce for a federal audit all financial documents from the
last five years.

The tribe can continue business during the audit, but tribal
officials say they fear the confiscation of more funds.
 

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