Dakota, former Indian community leader, dies at 84

BARAGA, Mich. — Fred Dakota, whose garage casino in 1983 was a milestone for Native American gambling, has died at age 84.

Dakota, a former leader of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, died Monday at his home in Baraga, according to Reid Funeral Service. The cause was not disclosed.

Tribal offices were closed Friday, the day of the funeral, along with Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College. Ojibwa Casino locations in Baraga and Marquette were closed for much of the afternoon.

“It was an honor and a privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with one of the greatest leaders in Indian country,” tribal President Warren “Chris” Swartz Jr. said. “Fred impacted not only KBIC, but many tribal communities with his leadership abilities.”

With a single blackjack table, Dakota opened a casino in a two-stall garage in Baraga County on New Year's Eve 1983.

The garage casino led to construction of a larger casino, but decisions by federal courts shut it down.

By 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court eased restrictions on gambling on tribal land, a turning point for Native American casinos.