Area tribes discuss political '07 outlook

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer | Thursday, January 18, 2007 8:54 PM PST ∞

PECHANGA INDIAN RESERVATION ---- American Indian tribes could benefit from the new Democratic leadership in Congress, in legislative efforts ranging from gambling to social services, consultants told tribal leaders Thursday at a casino conference at the Pechanga Resort & Casino.

Democrats won the majority in both chambers of Congress during November's midterm elections. That means that many allies of Indian tribes now head powerful committees in the House and Senate, said Tom Rogers, a tribal lobbyist with Carlyle Consulting.

"We are immensely powerful right now," Rogers told tribal leaders gathered at a workshop on Washington, D.C., politics. "We've never had the power we have."

More than 600 people, including tribal leaders, casino representatives and vendors, gathered at the 12th annual Western Indian Gaming Conference. The event was sponsored by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, which represents 68 tribes and acts as a planning and coordinating agency for legislative, policy, legal and communications efforts on behalf of its members.

Tribes had a tough legislative year in 2006, fighting back efforts that would encroach on their sovereignty and businesses, consultants said.

Last year, tribes narrowly averted a federal bill that would have prohibited tribes from building casinos off their traditional lands. The bill's author, Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, was among those defeated by Democrats in the midterm elections.

Pombo said last year that he wanted to stop "reservation shopping," a term used to describe proposals to build casinos far from a tribe's traditional lands. He blamed the bill's failure on Democrats, some of whom criticized it as an intrusion on the sovereignty of tribes.

Tribes are now pushing for a wide range of changes, including a bill that would allow them to issue bonds to fund tribal governments and tribal businesses, Rogers said. If enacted, the legislation would allow tribal governments to use tax-exempt debt to build convention centers, hotels and golf courses.

Other consultants said Thursday that despite the Democrats' narrow gains, tribal leaders will need to work with lawmakers from both parties to move their legislative agenda forward.

"We're going to have to continue to work both sides of the aisle on our tribal issues," said Holly Cook Macarro, a tribal consultant and a workshop panelist. "As we all know, tribal issues are generally bipartisan."

At another workshop, analysts told tribal leaders that funding research could help highlight to the public and local governments the benefit their businesses have on neighboring communities, such as employment opportunities, increased tax revenues and purchases from local vendors.

"This information is used with the media on a regular basis, to focus on the jobs that are created and the general economic impact that the tribes' operations, not just casinos" have on communities," said G. David Huntoon, a researcher with The Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College in suburban Los Angeles.

The conference ends today with a meeting among members of the gambling association.

-- Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

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2 comment(s)[-]Go to Top

Sad Cultural Decay wrote on Jan 18, 2007 10:31 PM:It is sad to see the Native American culture dominated by gambling. My sons mother is Navajo and went to work at the medical clinic at a local reservation. The stories she told me were shocking. Certainly the tribes are rolling in money, but are culturally bankrupt. Her own tribe recently approved gambling after years of rejecting it. I am afraid it is another nail in the coffin for the tribe. Gambling is a disease the same as drug and alcohol. It ruins lives, destroys families. The fact that it is now sponsored by the state is the most audacious hypocrisy. This comes when the federal goverment is trying to deny terminaly ill patients access to medical marijuana.

Verifiable wrote on Jan 20, 2007 4:44 AM:It is unfortunate that people believe themselves to be experts on this topic or that based on their limied set of circumstances. The previous post is representative of that. The majority of tribal entities in the U.S. who run gaming operations put the proceeds back into services and infrastructure on their reservations and among their people. FEW DISTRIBUTE ROYALTY CHECKS contrary to what most people believe. California's gaming tribes are required to fund a Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. From that pool of money, each of 71 non-gaming tribes in the state receive $1.1 million per year regardless of the number of triba members, size of reservation. That's in addition to other requirements and commitments to fund local critical needs and services. While it is true that San Diego has more casinos within the County than any other County in the U.S. the idea that casinos are exploding all over the place is nonsense. The majorit of reservations do not have gaming operations and there have only been three casinos in the entire country approved for off reservation locations -- none of those since Bush has been President. And finally, the mother of his sons would likely have "shocking" stories if she'd gone to work at a similar medical clinic off the reservation too. It's the nature of the beast. Ever hear of a landlord who has great tenants, that pay the rent on time, don't sneak pets into the place, never party and keep the pad clean as a whistle bragging to people at cocktail parties or down at the barber shop about their renters? But the guy can't evict his terrible tennants doesn't hold back from lamenting about it with others. In fact, how often do people ever share or brag about "good news?" Just like everything ... there's good and bad. To push Indian gaming into the "bad" category today because one is misinformed or closed minded demonstrates ignorance. To portray Indian leaders as crooks or "rip-offs" is irresponsible and just not true. Jack Abramoff, afterall, is a "White Man." It is so much easier to live life blaming others, blaming alcohol or guns or gambling or George Bush or Bill Clinton rather than taking personal responsibility.

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