Indians, supporters march for slots, sovereignty

About 800 Colville Confederated Tribes members and their supporters rallied Thursday in front of the U.S. Courthouse here to demand that the government drop plans to seize slot machines from their reservation casinos.

Tribal leaders contend the civil forfeiture action is a violation of the sovereign status of Indian nations. Similar litigation is being pressed by U.S. attorneys in California.

But Connelly, whose office last month began the litigation against the Colvilles and Spokane Tribe of Indians, denied claims of a conspiracy to deprive Indian tribes of gaming revenues.

"Our position is slots are illegal. I don't see it as a sovereignty issue at all," Connelly said. "The issue is whether slots are legal or illegal. It is not meant as an attack on their sovereignty, which we very much respect."

Connelly declined to comment further, saying the issue is under litigation.

Outside, ceremonial drummers led a procession of hundreds of Colvilles and their supporters from a nearby park to the courthouse steps.

Author Sherman Alexie was among dozens who spoke in behalf of the Washington state tribes trying to keep the slot machines.

Tribal elders dressed in traditional feathers and bead work and youths in T-shirts, carried signs proclaiming "Slots Mean Jobs" and 'Save Our Slots."

The government last month filed civil forfeiture actions to remove the slots under the 1951 Johnson Act, a federal organized crime law that makes it illegal to operate gambling devices on Indian reservations.

The Colvilles, the Spokanes and Shoalwater Bay tribe of Western Washington all have installed slot machines in their reservation casinos without first signing gaming compacts with the state.

Efforts to remove the slots are seen by tribal authorities as an assault on tribal sovereignty guaranteed in century-old treaties with the United States.

Alexie, a member of the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene tribes, said gaming operations offer tribes economic and educational opportunities he didn't have as a youngster growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation.

Reservation casinos offer tribes the chance at economic sufficiency and serve as a bridge between Indians and non-Indians, he said.

"Without our sovereignty, we cease to exist," said Alexie, who now lives in Seattle.

Tim Wapato, a Colville member and former executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association, said the forfeiture action is part of a "conspiracy" by states and the U.S. Department of Justice to deprive Indian tribes of much-needed gaming revenues, "which they see as a threat."

Wapato and others said there is no difference between Washington state's on-line lottery and Indian Country gambling.

Joe Pakootas, chairman of the Colville Business Council which oversees the tribe's various ventures on its 1.4-million-acre north-central Washington state reservation, said gaming revenues account for one-fourth of the tribal government budget.

The forfeiture action flies in the face of promises by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno in 1995 to respect and promote tribal self-governance, he said.

"This is not an attack on Colville gaming. It is an attack on legitimate efforts by the tribal government to improve conditions on the reservation," he said. "We ask the federal government to reconsider its position, honor its promise to respect Indian self-determination and work toward a solution that protects our gaming enterprise."

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