Conference explores history, future of Indian Gaming Act 

Franklin Duchineaux for Homepage
Franklin Ducheneaux,
former attorney for
Indian Affairs with the
U.S. House Interior
Committee, gives the
keynote speech at the
conference on Thursday.
(Photo by Michael Ging)
     More than 300 people from across the country participated in a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act on Thursday and Friday at the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation in Fountain Hills.
     The conference, "Indian Country's Winning Hand: 20 Years of IGRA," was organized by the Indian Legal Program at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, and included panels on the Act's history and implementation, state compacts, economic impacts, and the effect on relationships among tribes, states and the federal government.
     The conference was a celebration of progress made in the past 20 years, but Franklin Ducheneaux, former attorney for Indian Affairs with the U.S. House Interior Committee, who helped author the Act, said he would rather be remembered for other legislation.
     Ducheneaux, the luncheon keynote speaker on Thursday, said the Act was designed to blunt resistance from states worried about unregulated gambling on reservations, and that it gave away some tribal sovereignty.
     Ducheneaux said he preferred to be remembered for other legislation he helped pass, like child welfare or health care. And he worried that tribes chasing the gaming dollar forget their true role as guardians of their members.
     "Tribes do not exist to run casinos," Ducheneaux said. "They need to take care of the welfare of their people."
Pathbreakers250.gif

Six men were honored as Pathbreakers
at the conference “Indian Country’s
Winning Hand: 20 Years of IGRA (Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act)” held Thursday
and Friday at the Fort McDowell Resort
& Casino in Fountain Hills. They are,
from left, Ernest L. Stevens Jr., chairman,
National Indian Gaming Association;
John A. James, chairman, Cabazon Band
of Mission Indians; Dr. Clinton Pattea,
president, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation;
Frank L. Chaves, former chairman, New
Mexico Indian Gaming Association;
Richard G. Hill Sr., chairman, Oneida
Nation of Wisconsin; and Mark Macarro,
chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseño
Indians. (Photo by Michael Ging)
     W. Richard West Jr., former director of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., said tribes should celebrate the Act as a turning point.
     "Business opportunities have flourished and Native communities have been strengthened," said West, the keynote speaker on Friday.
     But he cautioned people to focus on what he called the "ultimate purpose," to protect tribal sovereignty and preserve cultural heritage.   
     Mark C. Van Norman, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association, said that, since the Act was passed, there has been great progress in tribal government to federal government dialogue. Gaming money has been used for health care, education, and to preserve culture, Van Norman said.
     But more needs to be done to educate people about Native American culture, he said.    "The more people learn about Native Americans, the more they support Indian gaming," Van Norman said.
     The conference honored six Pathbreakers in Indian gaming: Dr. Clinton M. Pattea, president, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation; Frank L. Chaves, former chairman, New Mexico Indian Gaming Association; Richard G. Hill Sr., chairman, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin; John A. James, chairman, Cabazon Band of Mission Indians; Mark Macarro, chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians; and Ernest L. Stevens Jr., chairman, National Indian Gaming Association.