California tribes turn up volume

SAN DIEGO -- Both sides turned up the heat Wednesday in the bitter fight over gambling between California Indian tribes and Las Vegas casinos.

An overflow crowd of more than 500 people showed up for emotional testimony before the National Gambling Impact Study Commission on a ballot initiative that would ease the path for Las Vegas-style casinos on Indian reservations.

Several hundred of those in the audience were members of four Southern California culinary unions opposed to the Indian Self-Reliance Initiative (Proposition 5). The rest were members of area Indian tribes supporting the measure.

The tribes are spending millions on the initiative that will ask California voters this November to legalize gambling on the reservations without forcing the tribes to sign a compact with Gov. Pete Wilson.

The first compact, signed in March by the San Diego-area Pala Band of Mission Indians, has been criticized by other tribes who believe such deals infringe on their sovereignty.

Las Vegas casinos, fearing that an explosion of Indian gaming in California would be catastrophic to Southern Nevada's economy, have joined a coalition of unions, Hollywood entertainment companies and religious groups fighting the initiative, which was launched in the wake of the Pala pact.

The Coalition Against Unregulated Gambling -- which includes the likes of Hilton Hotels Corp., The Walt Disney Co. and the culinary union -- is spending millions in the fight.

Several tribal leaders blasted Wilson on Wednesday for pushing the compacts with the tribes.

Daniel Tucker, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, accused the governor of "backroom" dealing.

Tucker said Las Vegas casino operators should be pleased that they have a governor in California working hard to undercut their nearest competitors.

Anthony Pico, chairman of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians in Del Mar, testified that his tribe signed a pact with the governor because it had a gun to its head.

"The governor is not negotiating. He's mandating," Pico said. "The state takes and the tribes give."

Pico accused Wilson of trying to drive a wedge between the tribes in the fight over legalized gaming, first authorized by Congress in 1988 with the passing of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

"After eight years of court battles, legislative fights and divisive political rhetoric," Pico said, "the governor brought us a compact to sign -- a compact that we were never a party to -- a compact that exacted a very dear price: a piece of our sovereignty."

Pico urged the nine-member Gambling Impact Study Commission to look carefully at the plight of Indians.

"This commission is part of history," he said. "If America fails to live up to its promises of self-government and economic independence for Indians, when it comes to gaming, it will be remembered as continuing its policy of oppression and discrimination when an opportunity arose to change the patterns of sad and tragic relationships."

Clifford Lachappa of the Barona Tribe in Lakeside, Calif., said his tribe signed a compact with Wilson "in order to see tomorrow."

"It's always been a battle for Native Americans," he said.

Daniel Kolkey, Wilson's legal-affairs secretary, defended the governor in testimony before the federal commission, saying the compacts were needed to preserve the state's gaming policy. As many as 39 tribes, he said, have operated illegal casinos in California.

"Tribes are entitled to participate in the American dream," Kolkey said. "We must all seek to improve the economic conditions of their members. But gaming, unlike other industries, has economic and social consequences that go well beyond a tribe's reservation.

"What the commission must do is propose a legal arrangement that better respects public policy over gaming."

Kolkey said the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act needs to be reformed so that it is more consistent with the gaming policies of each state.

Robert Smith, chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, praised the historic agreement his tribe signed with Wilson.

"The Pala compact is fair to our tribe and the public interest," he said. "It is not a grab-all for tribes alone, like Proposition 5. It balances legitimate competing interests of tribes, law enforcement, workers, environmentalists and local governments.

"It is truly a model that other states and tribes should examine."

Smith described Proposition 5 as "penny wise and pound foolish for tribes."

"While this would benefit gaming tribes in the short run, it is the long-term death knell for tribal gaming," he said.

The commission resumes its look at the status of Indian gaming today in Tempe, Ariz.

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