Issue 001 · May 10, 2026
Wisconsin's tribal nations and commercial gambling interests are at odds over a state legislative proposal to legalize online sports betting, with tribes arguing the bill would undercut the exclusivity provisions in their gaming compacts. WPR has been tracking this story, which sits at the intersection of sovereignty, economic development, and the state's long-standing compact relationships with tribal governments. The compacts were hard-won; any erosion of exclusivity has real fiscal consequences for nations whose governmental programs depend on gaming revenue.
Background
· 2025
· oneida-nation
Ernie Stevens Jr. of the Oneida Nation passed suddenly on September 26, 2025, at age 66, six months after his thirteenth re-election as chairman of the Indian Gaming Association. He led IGA for 24 years and served as a councilman on the Oneida Business Committee from 1993 to 1999, working in self-determination and youth advocacy. He was a regular voice at the Native American Basketball Invitational and a fixture of Indian Country sports.
Background
· 2025
· beloit-daily-news
After a 1992 federal designation and decades of compact negotiation, the Ho-Chunk Nation's $705 million Beloit casino and conference center is scheduled to open September 2026 on the southeast corner of Willowbrook and Colley roads. The 240,000-square-foot gaming floor will hold 1,500 machines and the hotel will start at 200 rooms. The state compact directs 5 percent of gross gaming revenue to Wisconsin, 1.4 percent to Beloit, and 0.6 percent to Rock County.
Background
· 2024
· stockbridge-updates
Shannon Holsey has served multiple terms as Tribal President of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. Her tenure has spanned a long compact dispute with the State of Wisconsin over revenue payments and the Ho-Chunk Beloit casino proposal, a 2019 federal court loss on the rival casino challenge, and ongoing leadership at the National Congress of American Indians, where she has served as a vice president.
Background
· 2024
· forest-county-potawatomi
Since its founding in 1999, the Forest County Potawatomi Foundation has contributed more than $30 million to charitable organizations across Forest County and the five-county Milwaukee region. The Foundation funds art and culture, civic affairs, community development, after-school programs, senior services, and environment, with targeted attention to low-income communities in Milwaukee. It operates from offices on West Kilbourn Avenue alongside the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino.
Background
· 2024
· wikipedia
The Potawatomi Casino Hotel, operated by the Forest County Potawatomi Community, has tripled in size since its first Milwaukee expansion in 2000. A $240 million expansion in 2008 tripled the gaming floor and added a 1,700-space parking garage; a 19-story hotel opened in 2014; and a $190 million renovation of the first two levels recently added new restaurants and a sportsbook. The build-out has anchored the tribe's economic diversification across Milwaukee real estate and renewable energy.
Background
· 2023
· wxpr
In November 2023 the Forest County Potawatomi Community opened a newly remodeled Health and Wellness Center in Crandon, funded in part by a $4.7 million state Healthcare Infrastructure grant. The renovation added a lobby and registration area, a triage room, additional medical exam rooms, and a drive-thru pharmacy. The facility offers medical, behavioral health, dental, optometry, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and weekend walk-in services, anchoring tribal health infrastructure for the post-pandemic decade.
Background
· 2020
· north-star-mohican-casino-resort
Since opening in May 1992 in Bowler, the North Star Mohican Casino Resort has grown into the economic engine of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, with more than 1,000 slot machines, table games, weekly bingo, a hotel, and tournament golf. The casino sits at the heart of a decades-long compact-and-revenue dispute with the State of Wisconsin, including Stockbridge-Munsee's call on Governor Walker to enforce compact terms after Ho-Chunk's Beloit expansion.
Background
· 2020
· forest-county-potawatomi-foundation
The Forest County Potawatomi Foundation, established in 1999 and funded by Potawatomi Casino Hotel revenue, has contributed over $30 million to charitable organizations in Forest, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties. Grant categories run from arts and culture to elder care to Native American interests to veterans services to youth development. For urban Indian Milwaukee, the foundation is the single most consistent funding source — the financial backbone behind the Indian Community School move to Franklin, behind grants to Indigenous nonprofits, and behind the broader Native-cultural infrastructure most cities don't have.
Background
· 2020
· wikipedia
Apesanahkwat (born January 19, 1949) served as tribal chairman of the Menominee Indian Reservation eight times and is widely considered one of the foremost originators of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. A Vietnam Marine Corps veteran, he is also a champion northern traditional dancer and singer and has acted in Wind River, Northern Exposure, Stolen Women, and Babylon 5. He remains one of the most active orators on tribal sovereignty, education, and language revitalization.
Background
· 2018
· forest-county-potawatomi
Ned Daniels Jr. won the Forest County Potawatomi chairmanship in the 2017-2018 election, succeeding longtime chairman Harold 'Gus' Frank. As chair, Daniels works with the five-person Executive Council on tribal administration and external agreements. The Daniels era has overseen the Health and Wellness Center renovation, the launch of the Bodwéwadmi Ktëgan farm, the expansion of tribal solar through the Office of Indian Energy, and continued strategic investment in Milwaukee real estate alongside the Potawatomi Casino Hotel.
Background
· 2017
· wikipedia
Cristina Danforth (Oneida name Kwahlak^ni) served on the Oneida Business Committee for twenty years across roles as Councilwoman, Treasurer, Vice Chairwoman, and Chairwoman, the last role twice. As treasurer she led the balanced budgets and self-funded gaming expansion that transformed the nation's finances. She negotiated gaming compacts for the United Tribes of Wisconsin, the Oneida Compacts, and the New York Land Claims, served as president of the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes, and preceded Tehassi Hill as chair.