Smoke Signals
March 17, 1995
Page 5
Gaming
Nine of the most
proudly leaving welfare rolls
and getting on payrolls.
They are taxpayers instead of
tax users. Local and state
governments are enjoying
increased tax revenues. Only
where states failed to negoti
ate compacts in "good faith"
in violation of IGRA has the
process not worked.
6. MYTH: IGRA is an
Unconstitutional Infringe
ment Upon States' Rights.
FACT: States Have
Reneged on the Deal They
Proposed and Accepted.
The states' ongoing assault
on IGRA starts from the
faulty premise that they have
some inherent long-standing
right to regulate or curtail j
in Dai gaming, aiaiesarenow
' trying to renege on a deal
they proposed and accepted
when Congress passed IGRA ;
in 1988 by unjustly and
wrongly asserting that IGRA
violates' the 1 Oth and 11 th ;
Amendments to the U.S. '
Constitution. To the con
trary, the Supreme Court's
Cabazon decision was a clear
recognition of the right of
i.n3
oft
Indian tribes to regulate
gaming on their lands free of
state laws if the state permit
ted those activities outside
the reservation. (The state of
Oregon continues to act in
good faith with the Grand
Ronde Tribe.)
7. MYTH: Tribal Gaming
Drains Resources and Tax
Dollars From Surrounding
Non-Indian Governments
and Communities.
FACT: Indian Gaming
Creates Additional Re
sources and Tax Dollars
For Surrounding Non-Indian
Governments and
Communities.
Indian Gaming is now a 5
billion dollar-industry-, ao...
cording' to Gaming ana
Wagering Magazine. Indian
gaming creates jobs, in
creases economic activity
and generates tax revenue
both on and off the reserva
tion. Consider the following:
in San Diego county alone,
tribal gaming has been re
sponsible for the creation of
more than 5,000 well-paying
new jobs, with a payroll of
vn.c
o9
common
$22 million per year (and the
associated payroll taxes and
employee income taxes). In
Minnesota, Indian gaming
has become the state's sev
enth largest employer, hav
5 ing created more than 12,000
new jobs - three-fourths of
which are held by non
Indians. And in Connecticut,
a single Indian gaming facil
ity will provide more rev
enues to the state than its
largest taxpayer, which is
one of the country's largest
defense contractors - direct
jobs created nationally, with
the majority of employees
being non-Indian.
Tribes have spent millions of
dollars for construction. In
addition, they spend many
more millions per year for
goods and services - almost
all locally.
8. MYTH: Better Eco
nomic Development Alter
natives to Gaming are
Available to Tribes.
misconceptions
FACT: Indian Gaming is
the First - And Only -Economic
Development
Tool That Has Ever
Worked on Reservations.
Many reservations are in
remote, inconvenient loca
tions on land that nobody
else wanted. Before tribal
gaming, there had been little
successful public or private
sector economic develop
ment on reservations. The
Federal GovernmentBureau
of Indian Affairs has not
been successful in economic
development on reservations.
The states have not proposed
any specific or credible
alternatives to Indian gaming
as a meaningful source of
tribal revenues and jobs.
However, tribal governments
are using the gaming pro
ceeds to diversify and con
duct other economic enter
prises. 9. MYTH: Tribal Gaming
Has Little Public Support
Among Non-Indians.
FACT: A Majority of
Americans Support Indian
Gaming.
Public opinion surveys, both
nationally and within various
states, conclusively demon
strate that the public strongly
supports expanded gaming
on Indian reservations. A
national Harris Poll in Octo
ber 1992, and polls in
Arizona, California, Kansas,
Minnesota, New Mexico,
Nebraska and Washington,
all show that the general
public favors casino-style
gambling on Indian lands but
opposes expanded non-Indian
gaming opportunities.
The reasons given for sup
porting tribal gaming are
consistent with the purposes
behind IGRA: the revenues
will help the Tribes and
surrounding communities
become economically self
sufficient and Tribes should
have the right to govern their
own lands.