Another tribe to launch recreational marijuana sales in Minnesota

At least four Native American tribes have now announced their entry into the adult-use marijuana market in Minnesota, after the Prairie Island Indian Community recently revealed its plan to open a dispensary this summer on its reservation about an hour southwest of Minneapolis.

The shop will be called Island Peži, using a tribal word for “grass,” and will “create another avenue of economic diversification for PIIC and develop opportunities for the Tribe’s members for generations to come,” the PIIC said in a press release.

The dispensary will be housed next to the Dakota Station convenience store and gas station on Prairie Island, and it will be owned by CBH Inc., a tribal corporation.

The PIIC approved its own sovereign cannabis industry ordinance, along a parallel track to the state, which is slated to launch a broader recreational marijuana market sometime next year. The tribal cannabis industry, however, will be governed by the PIIC’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission instead of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.

“Island Peži is a step forward in our efforts to diversify our economy and strengthen our Tribe’s long-term financial sovereignty,” Prairie Island Tribal Council President Grant Johnson said in a statement.

The tribe is also hiring for the cannabis venture and is looking for a human resources manager and a general manager along with entry-level dispensary staff, according to the release.

The PIIC joins the Red Lake Nation, the White Earth Nation, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe as the fourth Minnesota-based Native American tribe to enter the cannabis industry following the state legislature’s embrace of full marijuana legalization last year.