Positive Impact | Community Involvement

Charitable Giving

The Mohegan Tribe has long been committed to good relations with our neighbors near and far, and continue to uphold this today as an integral part of our values and identity. Each year, our business entities participate in hundreds of community support initiatives in each of the communities in which they operate.

In Connecticut, several Mohegan Tribal members sit on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut and dozens more volunteer their time. Each year, Tribal members and employees are actively engaged in food drives, food packaging events and distributions, Read Across America Day, holiday toy drives and distributions, Day of Caring and much more. Mohegan Sun is a Platinum level United Way Corporate Benefactor and sponsors a “loaned employee” each year to assist United Way staff. For these efforts and more, Mohegan Sun was awarded the Chairman's Award of Excellence in 2015; the Community Leader of the Year Award in 2016 and United Way’s highest honor, the Chairman’s Award of Excellence, in 2017. In addition, they received a "Breakthrough" Award for topping the $100,000 mark in overall giving.

Mohegan Sun Pocono is a key partner to hundreds of local organizations in Northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2015 they were awarded the NEPA Alliance Regional Leadership Award and in that same year, donated three times as much to charitable organizations as their closest competitor.

In Atlantic City, Resorts Casino Hotel contributes to its community, including an annual donation of turkeys to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, providing event space for dozens of charitable events each year, and supporting the United States Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys For Tots program. In 2015, nearly $100,000 in financial contributions were made locally—a milestone achievement given Resorts’ previous economic challenges.

With heart disease as the leading cause of death of Mohegan Tribal members, the Mohegan Tribe’s partnership with the American Heart Association is of key importance. In 2016, for the first time in its quarter-century history, the Eastern Connecticut Heart Walk made its home on the Mohegan Reservation, where it was again held the past four years. In 2016 Team Mohegan raised over $110,000; the entire event raised over $315,000, making it one of the Top 5 fundraisers in the 8-state region and in the Top 100 across the United States. In 2017, Team Mohegan contributed over $115,000 toward the walk’s total proceeds of more than $300,000.

Indian Country

In September 2004, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) entered into development and management agreements with the Cowlitz Tribe to plan, design, and develop a casino-resort on its 152-acre reservation near La Center, Washington. The partnership between the two tribes created one of the most significant investments in Southwest Washington—ilani—which opened its doors in April 2017.

In September 2016, several Mohegans made the long drive to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota, joining thousands of Native Americans in a peaceful protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The group brought much needed supplies and a Mohegan Tribe banner signed by Tribal members in solidarity with the Sioux. Additionally, the Mohegan Tribe made a substantial monetary donation to the Sioux to assist with their day-to-day needs. During their visit, Mohegan Medicine Woman Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel returned a Lakota ceremonial pipe to the tribe which had been held in safe keeping by Gladys Tantaquidgeon and then the Tantaquidgeon Museum until it was called to return.

In June 2016, Mohegan and other Native American veterans and community members gathered at Mohegan Sun to learn more about establishing a National Native American Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. The Memorial is expected to be unveiled on Veterans Day 2019 and will enable all Americans to learn of the proud and courageous service of Native Americans in the U.S. military.

Honoring Our Military

Mohegans have served in every US conflict for thousands of years. Today, the Mohegan Tribe continue to honor military veterans in various ways.

Several Mohegan Veterans comprise the Mohegan Tribal Veterans Association. These revered veterans represent the Mohegan Tribe at events across the region, carrying the flags and representing our Nation.

Mohegan Veterans are also honored with a display at the Mohegan Church. This exhibit is called "Generations of Mohegans Serving Their Native Land," is shaped like a tree and includes photos of many Mohegan veterans.

In 2015, Mohegan Sun hosted its first Vets Rock event, which grew significantly in 2016 to over 2,500 attendees. This event also included the Wall That Heals, a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on display in the Winter parking lot. This event was held for its 3rd consecutive year on November 3, 2017.

For these efforts and more, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut presented one of its 2016 Military Community Support Awards to the Mohegan Tribe/Mohegan Sun in recognition of our unwavering support of the military men and women of Eastern Connecticut.

Government Relations

Connecticut's Native American tribes represent the second largest source of state revenue, second only to the federal government. Both the Mohegan Tribe and the nearby Mashantucket Pequot Tribe pay 25% of their slot machine revenues to the state in lieu of taxes. This money helps pay for badly needed local services in Connecticut cities and towns. Since its opening in 1996 and during its first twenty years of operation, Mohegan Sun’s slot payment has contributed over $3.5 billion to the State of Connecticut.

Our Communities

In 2016, over a million dollars collectively was donated to charitable organizations in the various communities in which the Mohegan Tribe operates.

Over the past twenty years in Connecticut, the Tribe has used its own funds to pay for a $35 million access road to allow Mohegan Sun’s 11 million annual visitors access without clogging residential roads, provided upfront funding for an $11 million water project to ensure that safe, clean drinking water is available for the entire region for decades to come.

Since 1994, the Tribe has supported our neighbors in Montville with a $500,000 stipend to minimize the impact of Tribe’s reservation being held in trust on the town. Additionally, Montville welcomes Mohegan Tribal members in regalia to march in their annual Memorial Day and Christmas parades, and just prior to Thanksgiving each year, the Tribe makes a donation of hundreds of turkeys and pies to Montville Social Services to distribute to community members in need.

In Pennsylvania, tax revenue from Mohegan Sun Pocono is distributed to the state, local community and horse racing industry. Each year slot revenue from Pennsylvania casinos, including Mohegan Sun Pocono, is returned to residents in the form of a property tax credit. Mohegan Sun Pocono has also spurred other economic developments and generated money through community projects.

Supporting Education

Since 2011, the Mohegan Tribe has proudly hosted the Connecticut Teacher of the Year reception and learning experience, with Council of Elders Secretary Beth Regan “Morning Deer” sitting on the Selection Committee. The morning following each year’s reception, the teachers learn how to incorporate Mohegan history and culture into their curriculum in a Professional Development session and gets a first-hand picture of the Mohegan experience with visits to the nearby Mohegan Church and Tantaquidgeon Museum.

Each year, the Mohegan provides funding to Connecticut educators to develop a curriculum for expanding Native American studies. The Mohegan Tribe Challenge Grant provides educational and classroom materials, as well as a cultural exchange opportunity; some groups are also given a field trip to the Mohegan Tribe’s Tantaquidgeon Museum.