Indian gambling leaders say sovereignty ‘under attack’

Erica Werner

Wednesday, April 9, 2003 | 9:58 a.m.

PHOENIX -- Indian leaders said Tuesday that tribal sovereignty is being threatened and tribes must stick together to defend it.

"Make no mistake my friends, we are at war. Our sovereignty is under attack," Anthony Pico, chairman of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians in San Diego County, told the National Indian Gaming Association.

"But this is not a war of guns and bombs, it's a war of words. It's a war of perception and it's a war for truth," Pico said.

Pico, a prominent Indian leader whose tribe operates a bank and an outlet mall along with a Nevada-style casino, also said that the opportunities Indian gambling has given to tribes may not be around forever. He and other tribal leaders have said that political opposition poses a threat to Indian gambling, which has grown to a more than $12 billion industry since Congress legalized it in 1988.

"Gaming has opened a door for Indian nations," Pico said.

"In the long term my hope is that this door leads to freedom, freedom from oppression and freedom from poverty, freedom from shame, freedom from the shackles of the past," he said. "...There is great pressure because we know and we fear that this door may be open to us only for a brief time."

Pico's address came during the National Indian Gaming Association's 12th annual Membership Meeting & Trade Show at Phoenix Civic Plaza, which was attended by about 2,500 people. The gaming association represents the 184 tribes nationwide with gambling operations.

Other tribal leaders made similar comments at the five-day event where some 500 exhibitors showed off everything from turquoise jewelry to tribal workers' compensation plans to flashy slot machines.

"We're always at war protecting our sovereignty," said Tim Wapato, former executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association and a member of Washington state's Colville Confederated Tribes.

"What you as tribal leaders have back on your reservation, somebody wants. They don't want you to control what you have," he said.

Wapato related advice given to him by another tribal member: "The white man never sleeps. He's always after what you've got. You've got to fight this every day."

Wapato advised tribal leaders to continue to lobby Congress for their rights. Tribes have become major political players in recent years, donating large sums to politicians and influencing policy. The growth of tribal gambling has also been promoted by voters in states including Arizona and California, and by customers who stream into casinos making tribal gambling a $1 billion-a-year industry in Arizona and a $3 billion to $5 billion industry in California.

But with the growth has come opposition from some local communities and policy makers, and the perception among tribes that their sovereignty, the unique government status that underpins their right to conduct gambling, is misunderstood and at risk. In particular tribal officials say that recent decisions by the Supreme Court and other federal courts have chipped away at sovereignty.

"Why is Indian gaming always under attack? Indian gaming is good for Native Americans across the country but constantly under attack by the opposition," said Mike Jackson, chairman of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano attended the conference briefly Tuesday morning and praised the relationship between tribes and the state as "a vital partnership."