The Realities of Tribal Sovereignty, Indian Gaming and Their Money Making Machine

© 2005 Hawaii Reporter, Inc ^ | 8/29/05 | By Bradley Beecher

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Hiding beneath the cloak of sovereign immunity federally recognized Indian tribes can ignore virtually any state law, many federal laws and violate the Constitutional rights of non-Indians with seeming impunity.

While I am not a legal expert on tribal sovereignty, based upon my own first-hand experience as a Commander of a State Police unit monitoring tribal gaming on a Connecticut reservation, I do not believe this is the outcome or state of affairs that either Congress or the courts expected or anticipated.

I have analyzed numerous state-tribe gaming compacts that allow tribes in most instances to create and apply their own set of laws. Based upon my experience and research here are some examples of situations permitted to exist at Indian gaming facilities:

• Non-Indian employees of recognized Indian tribes are not protected by either state or federal labor laws. A recent OSHA ruling that threatens this state of affairs is being heavily attacked by tribal hired lobbyists in Congress. Non-Indian employees are subject to arbitrary laws created by the tribe and their tribal courts. Employees and patrons of casinos on federal reservations effectively relinquish their constitutional rights.
• If Indian children, elders or women are abused on a reservation and tribal police and tribal courts do not or refuse to respond, the abuse simply continues. State child protection and sexual assault laws do not apply. Given that the tribal police and tribal courts usually are under the influence of the tribal authority, this happens more than the public realizes. Recently a tribe in Minnesota was found to be protecting child predators.
• Casinos can legally ignore their debts. As a sovereign nation a tribe can purchase goods or contract for services and legally refuse to pay for the purchase or default on the contractor. The aggrieved cannot file a civil suit in state court to recover the money. If they can find an attorney to represent them in a tribal court, they can attempt to recover the debt, but the court is in the employ of the tribal government and serves at its whim. Recently, a gaming tribe in California refused to pay a contractor. This contractor tried to pull off of the project until the debt was settled. The tribe refused the company access to the reservation to recover its heavy equipment. The contractor was out what he was due and also deprived of his means of making a living. Why? The tribe has sovereignty.
• The Indian Casino Industry is not supposed to violate federal regulations and laws but they do every day. It is a commonly known fact that government agencies funded by taxpayer dollars don’t enforce these regulations. The NIGC, BIA and DOI are predominantly understaffed, incompetent, self-serving and disorganized. By 1996, the NIGC reported that 84 percent of the Indian Gaming facilities audited were out of compliance with federal regulations. Many casinos had not been audited yet. Mohegan Sun had its first audit in 2004 after 8 years of operation. The report still has not been completed. The Tribal Gaming Commissions on reservations are supposed to be regulating but they are, like the tribal police and the tribal courts hired and fired by the people in power. It would seem obvious that the casino makes more money if their actions and policies are not restricted.
• American citizens cannot sue tribes or their representatives in most cases. We have to obey all laws. If I go into another state, I must obey that state’s laws. Sovereignty was intended for Indian self-government on Indian land, not to allow them to be above the law off of their reservations. They can use the state courts to bring suit against non-Indian individuals or businesses, but the same individuals or business concerns cannot use the same court to bring such suits against a federally recognized tribe. Yet, these tribes are constantly seeking to expand their jurisdiction over non-Indians. In the past year, tribal interests attempted to add an amendment onto a Homeland Security bill whereby any non-Indian coming on to Indian lands would be subject to tribal law. This would have included casino patrons. Luckily the amendment was deleted.
• Tribes and their investors have enough money and rights to abuse state and federal courts. The average citizen could not afford to stand up to the monetary juggernaut a gaming tribe can bring to bear. If a recognized tribe wants the right to build a casino but lacks the proper land to put one on, they simply bring an "in terrorem" (intended to terrify) land claim suit to take thousands of acres from state or private landowners, on the oftentimes unfounded claim that the tribe once owned the land and was illegally taken from them hundreds of years ago. If they are given the rights to gaming, they drop the lawsuit. Some call that "blackmail." In the meantime, millions of dollars in taxpayer monies are spent and valuable hours of court time are wasted. So far, the tribes have even been able to file frivolous, slanderous and baseless suits against individuals who threaten their interests without consequence even though many states prohibit such actions. The defendant still has to bear the associated legal costs to get the suit dismissed, but the defendant cannot bring a counter-civil suit against the tribe to recover these expenses.

This situation is not going to change on its own. The gaming tribes have spread their influence to the corridors of both the state and federal government. As a result, government officials at all levels have done little or nothing to cause effective change. America is supposed to be the land of equal opportunity. Our governmental officials are supposed to represent the will of the American people, not those of purported "sovereign Nations."

Citizens must learn how tribal sovereignty destroys the principles our country was founded upon. When people grasp the fact that politicians are actually making and enforcing laws that favor one ethnic group over others, they often say "How can that happen here?" It is happening.

"Reservation shopping" could land a major casino operation in anyone’s backyard. This means local businesses being shut down, influx’s of foreign worker at low wages, inflation of real estate values and heavy strains being placed on local social agencies and school systems, not to mention the increase in crime and political corruption. Citizens, who are well educated, informed and organized, sending a clear, unified message to officials at both the state and federal level is the best weapon against this national trend.

[EagleUSA]

Citizens must learn how tribal sovereignty destroys the principles our country was founded upon.
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Exactly. I have been against this "tribal carte blance" ever since it was implemented as the political pandering that it is. And now Hawaiians are trying to get the same carte blanche?? Hell, why not? Illegal Mexicans get it -- they can do what they want, get free "everything" from the Washington goverment, all AT YOUR EXPENSE.

I still contend that Washington is really out of control.

[hedgetrimmer]

Bump.

[Adder]

I'm not sure I have a problem with tribal sovereignty. They are the remnants of nations...we regognized them as nations, treated with them as nations and in general screwed their eyes out, I just don't have a lot sympathy with the stance in the article.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

The problem is that the "rank and file" Indian doesn't see dime one from these enterprises. Instead, the money goes to the tribal leaders, who end up as multi-millionaires who keep the rest of their people in squalor while raping the communities around the casino.

Do a google search on Ray Halbriter and Oneida County sometime for a good example.

[metalcor]

Southeastern OK is booming, thanks in large part to the Indian tribes' casinos, travel centers, and other businesses including manufacturing chocolate, of all things. I haven't heard anyone here making any economic arguments against them, and very few against them for any reason. Non tribal businesses are benifitting. They are providing social services for tribal members far beyond what the state has provided, including a really nice home for foster children. No doubt, the system is being abused as systems always are, but not all of the effects in all cases are negative.

[Adder]

Well, the Cherokee do it differently. In addition to having their tribal coffers filled to overflowing, each and every member gets a yearly check. Even the kiddies, held in trust.
Last year's check was something like 14k.

I guess it varies from tribe to tribe. Thats the only one I am very familiar with. I would agree that if the rank and file got no benefits, it would indeed s*ck.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

From what I've seen, the Western States do it right. The problem is the Eastern and coastal states where land claims are basically invented out of whole cloth, in order for some flunky to buy a lot of populated land cheap and put a casino on it.

[EagleUSA]

They are providing social services for tribal members far beyond what the state has provided, including a really nice home for foster children. No doubt, the system is being abused as systems always are, but not all of the effects in all cases are negative.
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That is good news. My beef is with our government and the fear that they will start pandering to more GROUPS as opposed to the fact that we are all one people, under one government and equal under the law -- which we know is really not the case, but that is what our founding documents say is the intent of America.

[WOSG]

WE need to shut down the whole Indian gambling casino scam in toto. Alas, too late, they have enough money to buy off politicians on this deal ... but I dont think Geronimo was fighting for this way bcak when.

[gracie1]

Yes, we have a tribe locally that has been in the local news over what amounts to a family feud. They have steadfastly refused to enroll tribal members based on the fact that they did not own land on the rancheria site when it was reconstituted in the 1980's. That has kept the millions of dollars that flow into the tribes casino in the hands of a about a few dozen adult members. There is very little recourse for these people, who are blood family, some of whom continue to live in poverty (although that brings in my personal views on personal responsibility).

If the gaming tribe in your area behaves in such an insulting manner to the larger community, or non-enrolled members, simply vote with your wallets. They only have this amount of power because of the millions of easy money that flows into their casinos. So stop gambling there! Don't give them your money! If your a contractor, don't bid on their projects, no matter who lucrative a deal it may seem on the surface! It's our greed responding to the lure of easily gotten money that provides them with their power. Cut off the flow of cash until they learn they must live within a larger society.

[DM1]

hey maybe i can start my own tribe in NH. Pretty cool i can declare diplomatic immunity or something

[American in Israel]

Hey, we were told that Christian morals and laws were horrible to live under and we have walked from that to this mishmash of socially engineered, you get your sin and I get mine.

Now we find out that it really sucks, but there is no going back. Kinda like a wife deciding to try prostutition for a little extra cash. Now gambling is spread across the land, along with drugs and prostitution. What was once Child sexual abuse is now done to our children in schools as they are forced to learn adult sexual practices in grade school.

Why does a 7 year old need to know how to apply a condom if he or she was not taught why to use it in the first place? This is simply not a thing a child should be exposed to until puberty.

But hey, you can find a Lost Wages in every city now, along with an AIDS clinic, a methodone clinic and a womans abuse shelter. Every miss the good old days when a problem in school was chewing gum, not rape and guns? Isn't freedom grand? Freedom from the law is lawlessness.

Go figure.

[mercy]

They aren't getting my money, unless you count some small part of my taxes spent on harrassing Indian casino owners.

I hate gambling but if stupid people want to throw their money away I couldn't care less. More power to the Indians. They've been screwed for two hundred years. About time they got a piece of the pie.

[A. Pole]

Hiding beneath the cloak of sovereign immunity federally recognized Indian tribes can ignore virtually any state law, many federal laws and violate the Constitutional rights of non-Indians with seeming impunity.

This is the deal which gave the American settlers the land. If we do not like it, we should go back to Europe (or other places) and return the land to Indian tribes.

[sittnick]

While I am not a legal expert on tribal sovereignty, based upon my own first-hand experience as a Commander of a State Police unit monitoring tribal gaming on a Connecticut reservation,

I'll say he's not. I performed contract work at the largest casino in Connecticut (Foxwoods), and it was not hard for the state to get their mitts on a whole lot of things.

Originally, the casino was allowed everything that other non-profits in Connecticut were allowed. Since churches and Elks clubs etc. could run a Monte Carlo night, so could the "tribe." However, the biggest money maker of all, slots, were not present because Connecticut state law did not allow them.

Now, the evil governor of Connecticut, Lowell FRINO Weicker (Former Republican in Name Only), makes a deal with the tribe. They can have the slots, and they will have exclusivity (along with Mohegan Sun), but they have to subject themselves to all sorts of CT rules and regs.

The tribe bought in. There was certainly no lack of state police presence when I was in Foxwoods late 1997.

It might be the last public place in Connecticut where one can openly smoke a cigarette!

[John O]

When Isreal returned to their land after the captivity in Egypt God commanded them to eradicate the tribes that had moved into their land. Basically, once you defeat the enemy totally destroy them.

More and more I see the wisdom in this. If we had done that from the start of this country we'd have no stupid NCAA ethnic cleansing going on, we'd have no tribes claiming the remains of people who died before the tribe cam into existence (Kennewic(?) man) and we'd have no illegal alien problem. We would have much more land and resources to the south of us and the island of cuba would be a paradise resort complex by now.

[GrumpyolJarhead]

n 2003 I was struck by a drunk driver who was employed by the Avi Casino Enterprises Inc. She was over-served at a party for another Avi employee. She became so intoxicated the bartender wanted to cut her off, but was told by a manager to keep feeding her booze. She decided to leave that party for another at approximately 0400 she was seen stumbling to the exit. When she encountered Security She was placed onto a shuttle to the Employee Parking. (instead of forcing her to take a cab, or sleep it off in a room upstairs as per casino policy).

She made it less that a mile where she swerved into my lane hitting me on my motorcycle. My left leg was traumatically amputated near the hip. I have suffered from very bad back, stump and phantom pains since 2003. It took over two years for me to recover to the point I am today. I am unable to work, because I cannot sit for more that 4 hours.

All I’m asking is an avenue to justice for others like me. Lets stop 21st Century multi million dollar corporations from hiding behind 1800s law.

Some tribal entities have made it a policy to use blanket tribal immunity as a license to steal. Whether denying slot machine winnings, or hiding great wrongs behind 150 year old law.