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Prior Lake, MN- The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announces a grant for $135,000 to Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) of Cass Lake, Minnesota. The funds will be used as a match for a federal Title III grant which helps eligible Institutes of Higher Education to become self-sufficient and expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.

The Title III grant funds are awarded to help Tribal Colleges build their endowments, providing for long-term growth and added financial stability.  Earnings on Leech Lake Tribal College endowment funds are used for scholarships, technology upgrades, and student support services.
The SMSC funds match $45,000 grants over three fiscal years: 2008, 2009, and 2010. The first two installments have already been paid to the LLTC.
Leech Lake Tribal College President Dr. Ginny Carney said, “This generous donation could not have been received at a more opportune time, and Leech Lake Tribal College is deeply grateful for the trust bestowed upon us by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community to use this gift in a way that will benefit our students and the Leech Lake community for years to come.”

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO) established Leech Lake Tribal College by Tribal Resolution in July 1990. Today, Leech Lake Tribal College includes approximately 70 faculty, staff, administrators, and 250 full-time students. Most of the students come from the Leech Lake Reservation and the surrounding reservations in Northern Minnesota. In addition, approximately 8% of the students enrolled at the College are non-Native American. Leech Lake Tribal College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

The Leech Lake Reservation, established in 1855 by treaty with the United States government, is one of six Ojibwe (Chippewa) reservations that comprise the federally recognized Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The reservation primarily consists of forests, lakes, and wetlands, few towns (none larger than 1,000 people), and 14 Indian communities that are separated by distances of up to 80 miles. More than 6,200 people live on the Leech Lake Reservation, which has an unemployment rate of approximately 30%.
In recent years the SMSC has awarded Leech Lake a $1 million grant for a Community Center in the town of Bena and for the purchase of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products and services business; a $1 million grant to fund a gas station at the Northern Lights Casino near Walker and renovations to the White Oak Casino in Deer River; and other grants to fund the purchase of a water well drilling truck and equipment, the tribal college, the Heritage Sites Program, the Education Scholarship Program, and the Insurance Trust Fund.
About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
The SMSC utilizes its financial resources from gaming and non-gaming enterprises to pay for all of the internal infrastructure of the Tribe, including but not limited to roads, water and sewer systems, emergency services, and essential services to its Tribal members in education, health, and welfare. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has a charitable giving program which comes from a cultural and social tradition to assist those in need. Over the past 12 years the SMSC has donated more than $156 million to charitable organizations and Indian Tribes, including more than $14 million in fiscal year 2009. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, a federally recognized Indian Tribe in Minnesota, is the owner and operator of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Little Six Casino, Playworks, Dakotah! Sport and Fitness, The Meadows at Mystic Lake, and other enterprises on a reservation south of the Twin Cities.
This press release and other information may be downloaded from the SMSC website at www.shakopeedakota.org.