Casino turbulence at Meskwaki -- and dangerous Federal inter-meddling

["Hunter Gray" <hunterbadbear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Casino turbulence at Meskwaki -- and dangerous Federal inter-meddling

Note by Hunterbear:

The Feds have closed the Meskwaki casino at Tama, Iowa.

Interestingly, a long phone call yesterday from a Meskwaki [Fox] -- one of
my many enduring friends of that tribal nation from the old Chicago urban
Indian days, and then the several years I taught at University of Iowa [Grad
Program in Urban and Regional Planning/also adjunct in Social Work and
Hospital and Health Administration] -- dealt almost exclusively with the
current and absolutely awful casino situation in that setting [Tama, Iowa.]
I am not at liberty to go into some of the more interesting dimensions --
but, trust me, they are heavy indeed. We've heard much on the controversy,
including close at hand when we recently passed through Iowa.

The Federal government -- and the states, as far as that goes -- have no
business infringing in any way on the sovereignty of the Indian nations.
[But, of course, the Feds do and the states would like to and keep trying.]

In 1988, the National Indian Gaming Act [Indian Gaming Regulatory Act] was
passed which mandates that a tribal nation, in order to have a casino, has
to reach an accord with the respective state.  The 1996 USSC Seminole
decision goes further and allows a state to simply refuse to reach such an
accord with the respective Indian nation.  All of this constitutes back-door
erosion of the historic USSC Worcester v Georgia [1832] Cherokee Nation
ruling, in which the Marshall Court ruled definitively [and with great
language] that Georgia had no jurisdiction of any kind in Cherokee Nation
territory. This did not protect the Cherokees and other Southern tribal
nations from the infamous, forced Removal to Indian Territory [now
Oklahoma] -- but Worcester remains, to this moment, a most important bulwark
protection for Native sovereignty.

In this Meskwaki casino controversy, the Federal government, using the
handles provided by the Indian Gaming Act etc.,  has now unilaterally closed
down the casino.

This won't work.

Only the Meskwaki Nation itself can resolve its internal situations.  And,
sooner or later it will -- and very satisfactorily indeed.

Always has, always will.

Hunter [Hunterbear] -- taught Federal Indian Law for many years


Casino closure troubles Midwest's Indian leaders
The dispute should have been left to the Meskwakis, officials in neighboring
states say.
By WILLIAM PETROSKI
Register Staff Writer
06/09/2003

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American Indian leaders throughout the Midwest are watching as the federal
government continues to enforce a shutdown of the Meskwaki tribal casino
near Tama.

"Absolutely, we're concerned," said Ron Gilbert, executive secretary of the
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Gaming Commission near Sioux Falls, S.D. "I
don't understand why the government would come in and close down a casino in
that kind of a situation."

Kurt Luger, executive director of the Great Plains Indian Gaming Association
in Bismarck, N.D., said he was troubled by the federal government's action
because he didn't believe there was a problem that directly affected the
Meskwaki casino's gambling operations.

The key issue - a dispute between two factions vying for control of the Sac
and Fox tribal government, which operates the Meskwaki casino - should have
been left to tribal members, said Luger. His association represents 26
tribes in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas that operate
casinos.

"I do think that cooler heads should have prevailed and they should have
allowed the internal Sac and Fox political process to clean up whatever
election issues needed to be cleaned up," Luger said.

Kathryn Rand, co-director of the Northern Plains Indian Law Center at the
University of North Dakota, said matters involving tribal law have
traditionally drawn attention from only a handful of people, such as federal
attorneys and tribal members. Because a casino is involved in the Meskwaki
dispute, the financial stakes are much higher and so is the public attention
given to the case, she said.

"Now all of a sudden there are implications for nontribal members as well,
such as people who can't work in the casino," Rand said.

The Meskwaki casino, which was generating gross revenues of about $3 million
weekly, was closed May 23 by U.S. marshals, putting about 1,300 people out
of work. A federal judge had signed an order enforcing the closure by the
National Indian Gaming Commission, a federal agency that regulates tribal
casinos.

The federal gaming commission acted to shut down the Meskwaki casino, citing
violations of federal law and administrative regulations because of concerns
over the legitimacy of the tribal government. The commission recognized the
Sac and Fox Tribal Council, which was elected according to the tribe's
constitution, to run the casino. The federal agency did not recognize tribal
members who say they were appointed by the hereditary chief. They took
control of tribal headquarters and the casino in March.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has kept the Meskwaki casino closed,
but it has appointed a mediator to help resolve the leadership dispute. A
gag order has been issued to prevent tribal leaders or attorneys from
discussing the dispute with outside parties.

Richard Schiff, a spokesman for the National Indian Gaming Commission in
Washington, D.C., declined to comment last week, referring a reporter to
federal documents that spell out violations leading to the closure.

Gilbert, whose Santee Sioux Tribe operates the Royal River Casino and Bingo
about 28 miles north of Sioux Falls, said he felt sad that the Meskwaki
casino had been closed, especially because the situation involved an
internal dispute.

"Something like that usually happens when you get families divided on the
reservation," Gilbert said. "It is pure politics, and I hate to see the
casino get drawn into something like that, because it is not the casino's
fault. I hope the situation gets remedied and that they find a fix for it."

Rand, of the Indian law center in North Dakota, said judges had differed
about whether it is appropriate for federal courts to determine whether a
tribal government is legitimate.

"Ordinarily, we would expect the federal government to leave it to the tribe
to work out who should be operating within the legitimate tribal government
structure," Rand said. The federal government has intervened with other
tribal casinos, but typically those situations have involved disputes such
as whether a state has agreed to permit casino-style gambling or whether the
tribe has too many slots on the casino floor, she said.

"Since this has to do with the legitimacy of tribal government, that could
very well be unprecedented," Rand said.

John Blackhawk, chairman of the Winnebago Tribe, which operates WinnaVegas
Casino about 20 miles south of Sioux City in western Iowa, said last week
that he was surprised the tribal leadership issue had resulted in the
closing of the Meskwaki casino. He noted that most Indian tribes have
constitutions that provide methods for removing leaders from elected offices
for just cause. But unlike many tribes, the Sac and Fox Tribe does not have
a tribal court to resolve such disputes, he said.

"That is one of the big, big differences," Blackhawk said.


The Winnebago Indian tribe stunned state officials four years ago by
lowering the gambling age from 21 to 18 at its WinnaVegas Casino in western
Iowa.

Under an Iowa law approved in 1994, the state's minimum age for gambling is
21, and all of Iowa's 15 other casinos still follow that requirement.

State officials contended at the time of the 1999 dispute that their compact
with the Winnebago tribe didn't permit gambling at age 18. But Winnebago
tribal leaders pointed out the agreement made no mention of a 21-year-old
legal gambling age. Ultimately, the tribe prevailed, and customers who are
18 are still playing slot machines and table games at WinnaVegas.

"The state of Iowa, to its credit, recognized our sovereign ability to
legislate on our reservation," said John Blackhawk, chairman of the
Winnebago tribe. The tribe is based at Winnebago, Neb., although it has
reservation land along the Missouri River in Iowa.

Carroll Webster Sr., chairman of the Omaha Tribal Gaming Commission, which
operates Casino Omaha near Onawa in western Iowa, said his tribe has less
interest in lowering its legal gambling age. That's because Casino Omaha
draws many senior citizens who don't necessarily like being around loud,
rowdy 18-year-old gamblers, he said.