Get ready for Little Amsterdam on the Prairie: A Native American tribe that operates a successful casino in eastern South Dakota is about to become the first to enter the legal marijuana business, and if they're successful other tribes may follow suit.

The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe’s governing body quietly voted last week to legalize pot for recreational use and welcome tourists 21 and older to consume it on tribal land. Tribal attorney Seth Pearman says the plan is to cultivate an atmosphere similar to Amsterdam, the Dutch capital famous for marijuana-dispensing coffee shops and popular with weed-seeking tourists.

“We hope to curb some of the black market and create a safe environment where people can come and get high-quality marijuana products,” he says.

Visitors will be required to consume the drug on the reservation, and only one gram will be dispensed at a time. Authorities hope the limit will encourage social use and discourage problems with state authorities.

The tribe’s primary enterprise, the Royal River Casino, provides an ideal springboard for the experiment, with a 120-room hotel that can host cannabis fans who wish to spend the night.

“As with any business we hope to get plenty of patrons to make it a successful operation,“ says Anthony Reider, tribal president. “We would definitely welcome expansion if need be.”

The tribe owns about 6,000 acres of land, but pot use will be confined to the 2,184 acres held in federal trust. The reservation is more than 300 miles from Colorado, the nearest jurisdiction that has legalized marijuana, and less than an hour from Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s largest city.

The Flandreau Santee Sioux appear to be the first federally recognized tribe to legalize marijuana for recreational use; currently, just Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington state allow legal pot use. In the nation's capital, personal possession of marijuana is legal, but sales are not.

“Our intention was not to be first,” Reider says, adding that there are “a lot of other tribes out there that are ready, but are waiting for someone else to be first.”

The reform passed the tribe’s executive committee on Thursday with five votes in favor, one opposed and one abstention.

The tribe plans to contract with an established marijuana-growing company and has a grow facility in mind. Cannabis plants takes several months before producing marijuana ready for consumption, so legal sales are not imminent.

There are plans to use another facility on the reservation as the sole dispensary,with plans on redeveloping an existing entertainment center that includes a bowling alley.

Marijuana possession for any reason outside limited research is a federal crime, but the Department of Justice allows states to set their own policies for medical or recreational use, so long as they avoid certain enforcement triggers, such as distribution to minors or wholesale smuggling to other jurisdictions.

In December, the department said that same guidance applies to federally recognized American Indian tribes, spurring intense interest in bringing pot to reservations. Some tribes ordered reviews of their existing cannabis policies or expressed interest in growing industrial hemp, while Washington state passed a law last month allowing tribes to participate in the state’s retail recreational pot market, and at least one California tribe began growing medical pot.

Unlike tribes surrounded by states that regulate marijuana sales, the Flandreau Santee Sioux aren't in close proximity to any legitimate businesses selling pot by the ounce, and Reider says the one-gram limit per transaction should stave off intervention from federal prosecutors.

“We feel that’s a strong-faith measure and if a little bit were to get out it’s not going to cause any harm or safety concerns,” he says.

The new tribal law, called the Marijuana Control Ordinance, will allow people younger than 21 access to the drug -- including products rich in cannabidiol, a compound anecdotally shown to be effective in treating epilepsy -- with a doctor’s recommendation and parental consent.

Pearman says he shared the tribe’s plans with the local U.S. Attorney's Office; although federal officials can't sanction the breaking of federal law, prosecutors “have been in good communication with us,” he says.

Ace Crawford, a spokesperson for the South Dakota federal prosecutor's office, declined to comment. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley told KSFY-TV the state will focus on enforcing its own marijuana laws off the reservation.

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While the Flandreau Santee Sioux will forge the path towards legal pot sale and consumption, It’s unclear which tribe will be next. In some states, such as California, Florida and New York, tribes cannot unilaterally legalize marijuana because federal laws have placed reservation land under state criminal jurisdiction.