Indians Protest Proposed Gambling Regulations

Representatives of a consortium of 200 American Indian tribes, dressed in full ceremonial regalia, gathered Wednesday on Capitol Hill to lobby against a Senate bill that would allow federal and state governments to have roles in the regulation of gambling on reservations.

Tribal officials said that the bill, if passed, would subvert the semi-sovereign status of Indian reservations and threaten a valuable source of revenue and employment that some tribes are relying on to help pull themselves out of poverty.

“This is an extremely dangerous precedent for the government to set,” Doran L. Morris, chairman of the Omaha tribe of Nebraska, said at a news conference called to kick off the lobbying campaign. He said it is the first time the federal government has tried to subject reservation economic activity to state regulation and may portend further erosion of American Indian rights.

Protection From Crime

Congressional proponents of the bill and representatives of the gambling industry have said that the legislation is necessary to protect reservation gambling from infiltration by organized crime.

Although only one person has been convicted on charges associated with reservation gambling, several investigations are under way and crime is expected to increase as reservations adopt more sophisticated forms of gambling, according to an aide to the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs.

The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the bill would not compromise the sovereignty of reservations because it calls for regulations agreeable to both states and reservations.

Under several agreements between the federal government and Indian tribes, reservations are allowed to maintain their own governments, which are exempt from state laws, and are permitted to set their own commerce regulations.

In the last 15 years, more than 100 reservations have turned to gambling--primarily bingo, but in some cases slot machines, blackjack and other casino games--as a way of raising revenues and relieving unemployment that has reached 80% on some reservations. Last year, gambling on reservations raised about $550 million.

Senate Vote Scheduled

“Just at a time when we are making great strides in improving the way in which we live, Congress may stop us dead by enacting this bill,” Morris said. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill this month, and the House may vote on similar legislation in a few weeks.