Minnesota tribes 'breaking the glass ceiling' of cannabis sales outside reservations

[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: It's our top story today. The first recreational cannabis dispensary off tribal land in Minnesota is expected to open as early as this weekend. White Earth Nation's cannabis company, Waabigwan Mashkiki, will run the store in Moorhead. This comes after White Earth and the State signed an agreement earlier this week. It's the first of its kind in the United States because it recognizes the authority of a tribal nation to regulate dispensaries off reservation land.

We wanted to understand how the deal fits into the wider scope of tribal cannabis agreements around the country, so joining me now is Mary Jane Oatman, executive director of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association. She's an enrolled member of the Nez Perce tribe and a descendant of the Delaware Tribe. Welcome to Minnesota Now, Mary Jane.

MARY JANE OATMAN: Thank you for having me. It's quite an honor.

NINA MOINI: It's an honor to talk to you. Would you start by explaining the work that you do and how you've been involved with discussions around tribal cannabis businesses in Minnesota?

MARY JANE OATMAN: Yes. I serve as the executive director of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, which was formed in 2022 to protect the rights and interests of tribes that were already engaged in regulating cannabis activity on their homelands, and just really finding strategies to where we could build toolkits for tribes to be able to navigate the very complex cannabis industry. And so I've just been on this educational journey. There's a lot of work ahead of Indian Country, so organizing early was mission critical for ICIA.

NINA MOINI: And tribal nations can set their own rules around cannabis on their reservation. So would you describe in what situations these agreements with state governments are necessary?

MARY JANE OATMAN: Absolutely. That's part of the work that we're doing with the ICIA, is tracking the data, the who, what, where and why of tribes in cannabis. And in doing that exercise, we've been able to lock in who is the universe of tribal hemp and cannabis, and how are they doing it? And a big part of that has been the interesting dissection of the cannabis compact, which is a interesting vehicle that tribes are utilizing to negotiate sovereign-to-sovereign agreements on how public health and safety will be protected in the regulation of cannabis in state and tribal communities.

And we're seeing this as a prominent practice since Washington State, one of the first states to legalize adult-use cannabis, started to deploy those cannabis compacts. But it is not necessarily something that all tribes are using, and that's why we're really excited about the work that we're doing at ICIA to be able to build that policy clearinghouse and data and research center for Indian Country hemp and cannabis.

NINA MOINI: Mary Jane, what were some of the obstacles that you ran into in this process? Some private business owners and some municipalities have expressed some concerns that tribal nations' overseeing businesses off reservations could set up an unfair advantage, in their opinion. What is your perspective on whether or not this agreement builds an inequity into the state's cannabis market as it's blooming?

MARY JANE OATMAN: I think the most important part to remember, when we're talking about tribal homelands and restoring economies and pathways to healing and wellness, is that that model really is being broken down in terms of the geographic boundaries. We work with communities like the Chippewa Federation, who span across three different states, so we have tribal communities that are already looking at what this medicine and trade looks like outside of the constraints of interstate cannabis commerce being prohibited.

It's the opportunity for tribes to take the conversation to that next level and be able to prove that tribal nations have been successfully regulating industries and emerging industries very well since the birthing of the gaming industry. And we are very much utilizing these resources, as sovereigns, to take care of our communities. I know that there's a lot of concerns about that. We actually witnessed states like New York, where tribes were first to market, being able to help fill their shelves with social equity brands.

So I do believe that, under this current model in Minnesota, that tribes are really going to raise the bar and bring the cannabis industry along with them. It's really, I think, more important to continue to have these community discussions, especially around these tax provisions and some of the other unsettled areas. The cannabis compact is just the start.

NINA MOINI: Well, what would you envision, then, for the future if this is just the start? What is the right way to approach this and grow this industry?

MARY JANE OATMAN: I do believe that open community transparency is critical. The Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association wrapped up a meeting in Minnesota yesterday, where we held a community discussion and dialogue around the cannabis compact and talked about some of the challenges, as well as opportunities for the emerging legal industry and licensees within that state.

And it was great to be able to have those folks that have the questions of the tribes come to the table and ask how this is going to work because there are a lot of questions that people have. So being able to have a safe space and forum to address them is important, and the ICIA was very honored to be able to convene a majority of the Minnesota tribes for that conversation.

NINA MOINI: And you talked a little bit about Minnesota and how it relates to other states, but would you tell me a little bit more about where you're seeing Minnesota fall in this process? Is Minnesota leading the way? Is it among the first? When you zoom out over the country, what are you seeing?

MARY JANE OATMAN: It was about two years ago when I started to see some of the opportunities in the state of Minnesota, specifically showcasing a model of success that works is really important for other tribes that are trying to figure out cannabis, navigate it. And when they see states like Minnesota have the first compact language for off-reservation activity, that is igniting a lot of other tribes, especially those tribes that are engaging in this conversation now about what it could look like for them.

So they've definitely broken a glass ceiling for Indian Country cannabis to have that discussion about what off-reservation activity looks like because it is still-- even if it's off reservation, in many of our tribal homelands, it's still in their usual and accustomed territory.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, say more about that.

MARY JANE OATMAN: The usual and accustomed territory, I think, is really important because it's what I brought up earlier, is that we have tribes that have relationships that cross state boundaries. We have a lot of tribes across the United States that have land in multiple states. And so we're trying to figure out how a tribe is not restricted from doing business with itself, from one state to another.

NINA MOINI: Right, because they were there first on the land. As you're looking in the months ahead, what are you envisioning for when a business would be operational?

MARY JANE OATMAN: Off reservation? Because we have tribes in the state already, doing some phenomenal activity.

NINA MOINI: Right, off.

MARY JANE OATMAN: I've had the opportunity to tour Red Lake cannabis dispensary, their Native Nation Care. I've had the opportunity to visit the White Earth cultivation facility, as well as their first dispensary, which was this 500-square-foot Amish cabin, this is a cute little log cabin. And within a week, they were already expanding out.

So I do believe that if the White Earth Nation is putting it into the universe, that they're going to be opening within the next couple of weeks, off-reservation.

NINA MOINI: Wonderful.

MARY JANE OATMAN: I trust that that is going to happen.

NINA MOINI: Awesome. Mary Jane Oatman, thank you so much.

MARY JANE OATMAN: Thank you.

NINA MOINI: Mary Jane Oatman is executive director of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association.