CLOQUET — Stakeholders at ANANG Native Cannabis Co. hope the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will be a guide for Minnesota’s burgeoning cannabis industry.

The new dispensary in Cloquet derives its name from the Ojibwe word for star.

“Just as our stars are a guiding light — they’ve guided our ancestors for generations — we also want to be in this new era of cannabis for the state of Minnesota and for our region,” said Caleb Dunlap, communications director for the Fond du Lac Band, during a grand opening ceremony Thursday.

Following several other Minnesota tribal nations capitalizing on the recent statewide legalization of cannabis, ANANG Native Cannabis opened for business on Monday. Located in the Fond du Lac Reservation off Big Lake Road, ANANG Native Cannabis Co. is the first dispensary to open in the Twin Ports selling all forms of cannabis.

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Because tribal nations are not subject to state regulations, they have the opportunity to get a head start following Minnesota’s legalization of all forms of cannabis in 2023.

By opening a dispensary before possible competing cannabis companies are legally allowed to open, Dunlap said it brings the opportunity for the Fond du Lac Band to be a leader in the cannabis industry, while providing another form of economic growth on the reservation.

“We wanted to ensure that we were being a leader in the space, and by being a leader, it reflected our sovereignty,” Dunlap said.

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To build and design the dispensary, the band contracted with Gordon Cannabis Group, a cannabis consulting firm that has assisted in the opening of hundreds of dispensaries globally, according to owner and CEO Tim Gordon.

“We’ve spent over a month training about cannabis and how to talk about it, not just about selling it, but understanding that whole synchronistic vibe of cannabis and how it comes into culture and the experience here,” Gordon said. “So outside of just selling recreational weed, we are creating an experience here.”

In addition to operating the dispensary, the band, with the assistance of Gordon Cannabis Group, is in the process of opening both an indoor and outdoor cultivation facility. It will follow “hardcore organic,” as Gordon describes it, growing practices. Until the band can cultivate its own cannabis, it is selling cannabis grown by other tribal nations.

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Even though Gordon and his business partner, Bill Abbott, have traveled the world opening dispensaries, they felt so impassioned by Fond du Lac’s project that they decided to move from Colorado to Duluth to provide continued hands-on assistance.

“We believe in it that much, (it’s) really a passion project for us,” Abbott said. “The band deserves something really great for them.”

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Gordon said ANANG Native Cannabis Co. is just the first of several dispensaries planned for the Fond du Lac Reservation.

Dunlap said the band regulates the cultivation and storefront to ensure that cannabis meets tribal and state standards.

“This is not an operation that’s just for our tribal citizens, it’s an operation for people across our region,” he said

The dispensary is located next to Fond du Lac Gas and Grocery and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Customers must be 21 or older. Because cannabis is still illegal federally, the dispensary cannot accept credit cards and only accepts cash.

Wyatt Buckner / Duluth Media Group

Wyatt Buckner / Duluth Media Group

Wyatt Buckner / Duluth Media Group