August 2, 2002

The San Francisco Chronicle
c/o Narda Zacchino (nzacchino@sfchronicle.com)
901 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94103

Dear Editor:

I would like to respond to “Greed tars Indian Casinos,” which appeared in the July 31, 2002 “Lazarus at Large” column of your paper.

This article fundamentally misunderstands Indian Tribes and Indian gaming. Indian Tribes are indigenous nations that have survived epidemic disease, genocidal wars, starvation and poverty over the last 500 years. As you know from your history books and we know from our bedtime stories, our grandfathers fought for our rights to self-government. When we exercise our rights to self-government to fund tribal government through Indian gaming, it is not a state-granted monopoly – it is a fundamental exercise of inherent tribal authority.

The Constitution of the United States acknowledges the status of Indian Tribes as self-governing political communities in the commerce clause. When the Constitution’s Treaty Clause says “all Treaties made, or which shall be made … shall be the supreme Law of the Land,” the Treaties already “made” in 1789 were mostly Indian Treaties, and our treaties don’t have an expiration date any more than the Constitution does.

As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in the Seminole Tribe case, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) affords the States a power withheld by the Constitution, that is the opportunity to participate in developing the regulatory framework for Indian lands. Yet, that does not mean that State law “grants” Indian Tribes our right to engage in gaming. In fact, what the law says is that when a State permits Class III gaming, the State must negotiate in good faith with Indian Tribes to conclude a Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compact. California has many forms of Class III gaming from the State Lottery to the card rooms to the racetracks, and under IGRA, the State has an obligation to negotiate in good faith with the Tribes. That does not mean that every little nook and cranny of state law is imported into the Compact, rather the provisions of State law that will be included are the subject of negotiation. So, don’t think that State law grants us a monopoly. Rather, understand that Indian Tribes are enduring, self-governing communities with a pre-existing right to undertake activities to generate economic growth and development for our communities.

So, try to learn a little bit of constitutional history. And, the next time that you want to right about a State law created monopoly in the area of gaming, write about the State Lottery.

Sincerely,
Ernie Stevens, Jr.
Chairman