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SANTA YNEZ, Calif. — Gilbert Cash would have no chance of working as a blackjack dealer at one of the major hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. The reason: Cash has filed for personal bankruptcy four times and failed to pay about $60,000 in income taxes. He also is awaiting trial on charges of choking and beating his estranged wife — allegations he denies. http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-me-chumash19oct19,1,6605413.story

Last week marked the historic opening of a museum on the national mall celebrating the diverse and deep culture of American Indian tribes. This recognition — in our nation's capital — of the first Americans corrects a glaring omission, and was long overdue. But the beauty of the new National Museum of the American Indian and all of its contents cannot conceal the appalling quality of life (or lack thereof) that continues to confront many Native Americans in this country. Sixteen years ago, the U.S. Congress — armed with good intentions — passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), a...

Legislators may put brakes on casino deal By Steve Wiegand - Bee Staff Writer Published 1:58 pm PDT Friday, August 20, 2004 A strange-bedfellows coalition of legislators from both major political parties were threatening Friday to derail plans for a gigantic Indian casino in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sources close to the negotiations among lawmakers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians told The Bee that state Senate President Pro Tem John Burton has demanded the proposal for a 5,000-slot machine casino just off Interstate 80 in San Pablo be scaled back to no more than...

More than 200 California Indians, claiming they've been banished from their tribes by greedy or power-mad tribal leaders, on Wednesday asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to halt compact negotiations with gambling tribes until they establish independent tribal courts to deal with membership disputes. California Indians For Justice, a coalition of 14 tribes, converged on the north steps of the Capitol to protest a wave of disenrollments they say is cutting the hearts out of Indian people. In recent years, several thousand California Indians have been kicked out of their tribes or denied official membership, often because they challenged the ruling faction,...

AS one of his New Year's resolutions, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is seeking to get one of the biggest moneymaking industries in the state to cough up a larger share of its billions in tax-free income: Indian casinos. Good luck to him. It's not going to be easy to squeeze more money out of a politically powerful lobby that has long-term agreements signed by the past administration that let it off virtually scot-free from sharing some of its billions in tax-free annual revenue. But as tough as it will be to undo the damage done by former Gov. Gray Davis, it's...

Back in 1999, California voters granted Indian tribes a monopoly on slot machines in the state. Since then, the public has watched with growing and justifiable dismay as state and local government leaders have groveled before the unchecked power of the tribes made rich by that monopoly. The tribes have built casino empires up and down the state. In the process, they have enforced their will with little or no regard to the impacts on - or wishes of - state, city and county governments or their non-Indian neighbors. In that environment, there is a natural appeal to an initiative...

KTVU.com Davis Ignores Schwarzenegger Request; Signs Bills POSTED: 6:33 p.m. PDT October 12, 2003UPDATED: 7:32 p.m. PDT October 12, 2003 SAN FRANCISCO -- Wielding the influence he still has in the waning days of his administration, Gov. Gray Davis signed four bills Sunday broadening the reach of Indian casinos in California. Two of the measures ratified agreements the Davis administration had already negotiated this summer with Indian tribes that want to open new gambling facilities in Southern California. One, the Torres-Martinez Band of Desert Cahuilla Indians of Thermal, plans to install 350 slot machines at an Imperial County truck stop...

<p>In an important test of the reach of tribal sovereignty, California's political watchdog agency is suing one of the state's wealthiest and most influential Indian tribes, alleging violations of campaign finance reporting laws.</p> <p>The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which operates two casinos in and near Palm Springs, argues those laws don't apply to it because it's a sovereign entity. The Fair Political Practices Commission says California has a sovereign right of its own to ensure the integrity of its election system.</p>

HARRISBURG - Hoping to open the state's first casino, two Delaware Indian tribes from Oklahoma want to reclaim 315 acres in the Lehigh Valley that they say were stolen from their Pennsylvania ancestors 200 years ago. "We will not sit by and trust that the tribes' interests will be protected by others," said Bernard Kahrahrah, the tribal planner for the Delaware Nation of Anadarko, Okla. "That did not work for the Delawares 200 years ago, and it's not going to work today." Kahrahrah was joined by officials with the Delaware Tribe of Indians, of Bartlesville, Okla., at a news conference...