Aren't they a Sovereign Nation?

The Mohegan tribe in Connecticut just got $54M of stimulus money to help it out and to create jobs.
Most people already have a problem with these sovereign governments being allowed to operate large casinos that virtually guarantee a steady cash flow at the expense of people who fail at basic math.
The fact that these casinos are hardly hurting makes them unlikely targets for stimulus, but Chris Dodd is not running for reelection, so he doesn't care who he pisses off.
Here is how they defend the "loan":
"The stimulus money is a loan from a U.S. Department of Agriculture rural development program that is meant to help communities of less than 20,000 people that have been "unable to obtain other credit at reasonable rates and terms and are unable to finance the proposed project from their own resources.""