TAMA COUNTY -- Concerns about casino profit-sharing arrangements have upset some members of the Meskwaki Tribe.

Over the past few days, the Tribal Council has met several times to discuss finances.

Tuesday night, the council was supposed to meet again, but only four of the seven members showed up. That's not enough to hold a formal session, so the meeting was postponed.

To most people, the Meskwaki casino is a place to play. But, to tribe members, it's a place to get paid.

Every member of the tribe gets about two-thousand dollars each month from casino profits. Now, some fear the tribal council will cut that sum in half.

"I'm pretty upset because if they wanted to do this, they should have told us at least a year before so we can plan our bills as well,” tribe member Stella Young Bear said.

Young Bear nailed up signs protesting any plans to cut tribe members' portions of the profits. Others have also expressed concerns.

"This is not a democratic government. It's some kind of government that has total control over everything, even our lives," tribe member Donald Wanatee said.

Another tribe member, Leodean Peters, said, "It seems like they're just running around in a circle and each one is asking, ' What are we going to do? What are we going to do?'"

Members said competition from other nearby casinos caused profits to drop here on the settlement. Now, they say the tribe is struggling to stay out of debt.

The Meskwaki Tribal Council plans to meet again soon because members have a lot of questions about finances.

"Where is this money going to be spent? What is it going to do? Is it going to save us? From what?" Wanatee said.

For years, casino profits have been a sure thing for tribe members. Now, all bets are off as some fear the council is gambling on the future.

The Tribal Council's Executive Director declined to comment on the situation. The council will likely debate the profit sharing arrangement sometime next week.