Minnesota draft tribal cannabis compact criticized as unfair by advocates, business owners

March 14, 2025

Tribal nations are major players at the Minnesota Capitol, with the 10 tribes that are currently negotiating compacts spending nearly $2 million in 2024 to lobby state government on a range of issues, including cannabis, according to state records. Two tribes, the Prairie Island Indian Community and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, gave $768,000 to statewide party committees alone last year, favoring Democrats over Republicans by a 4-to-1 margin.