In today’s Star Tribune, the first of two articles:

A ‘great rift’ widens: Frozen out of casino profits, thousands of descendants of Minnesota’s Dakota Indians have sued, asserting their rights to the money. A federal judge in Washington has strengthened their claims.

… Wolfchild and 22,000 other descendants of Minnesota’s Dakota Indians are laying claim to the casino riches.

And they have been bolstered by a federal judge’s suggestions that the government may have erred in 1980 when it determined who could control the tribal land.

The case could leave U.S. taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars. It also could leave Indians across the country wrestling anew with the meaning of tribal identity.

See also the Historical Timeline. Part II of the series to be published on Monday, though it’ll probably be posted on the Strib website later today.

Update: Part II of the series is titled More at stake than money, descendants say