(WSBT) The new Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo has the look of a state of the art gaming facility. But if you look closer, great care was taken to preserve a part of the heritage enjoyed by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.

That group hopes to use the money from the casino to help the tribe — and area charities.

The floor of the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo is filled with slot machines and game tables. But tribal leaders with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians hope people will look beyond the sleek machines and notice something else.

"Some of the items are so subtle that most of our guests won't know that it's unique to us from a cultural standpoint,” explained John Miller, Pokagon Band Chairman.

The design of the casino includes a lot of stone, copper, cedar and birch. They're materials Miller says are used in many tribal ceremonies.

There are also fireplaces. The Potawatomi Indians are known as "Keepers of the Fire."

And what are now blank canvases in the lobby will soon come to life.

"Over the course of the next year, a Native American artist — Mike Larsen — will paint four murals that represent significant moments in our history,” Miller said.

Money from the casino will also be used to fund a program to save the Potawatomi language. Right now, there are only 15 people in the country who speak it.

"We could take someone who's a young adult, who wants to learn the language, pay for them to go live with that family so they can learn that language and then come back and they can teach some of our youth the language,” Miller explained.

Local charities will also benefit from casino money.

A board will administer money from The Pokagon fund in the form of grants for projects in the community.

"That will allow us to really sort through the best projects in the local community so we can provide those funds to those best projects and take care of the community and share that revenue in the way the Pokagons have envisioned from day one,” said Miller.

Miller said they haven’t yet decided if there would be a limit on how many projects they would award money to, or a limit on the dollar amounts, but he thinks "the sky's the limit."

They've also just hired someone to head up the charitable arm of the fund.