Since President Ronald Reagan signed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, every president of the United States has had a critical role in Indian gaming. Whether it’s by their political appointments at the Department of the Interior or the National Indian Gaming Commission, or the policies they promulgate, presidents can accelerate or inhibit the growth of Indian gaming. I was honored to serve as deputy assistant secretary for Indian Affairs for President Clinton during a six-year period when Indian gaming gross revenues grew by $10 billion.
President Trump’s administration has generally been favorable to Indian gaming, with some notable exceptions regarding the Mashpee tribe of Massachusetts and a halt to trust-land acquisitions in Alaska. As the 2020 presidential campaign progresses, it’s worth examining the Indian gaming policies of three candidates likely to be finalists for the Democratic nomination for president: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
None of the three Democratic candidates above has an explicit position regarding Indian gaming. Sanders’ policy statement on Native American issues focuses largely on social and environmental issues, like climate change, violence against native women and health care. In direct conversations I’ve had with Senator Sanders, he expressed strong support for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and land protection, which would seem to bode well for tribal self-determination and Indian gaming.
Sanders has not been quoted saying any disparaging remarks regarding Native Americans generally, or with regard to Indian gaming, like President Trump in the early 1990s (before he partnered with an Indian tribe). Sanders, however, has not noticeably championed the Vermont state-recognized Abenaki Tribe in its efforts to seek federal recognition after being rejected by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He also has not sided with the tribes with respect to the proposed Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, and its goal to remove federal agency jurisdiction over employees in tribal commercial enterprises, like casinos. Even so, it doesn’t appear that Indian gaming would be negatively affected by a Sanders presidency, and his outreach to Native American leaders on the campaign trail indicates he would consult with tribes on major issues and likely appoint officials favorable to native interests.
Biden has a long history of working on Native American issues, both as vice president and as former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. His most direct work affecting Native Americans has been on the Violence Against Women Act provisions, dealing with tribal jurisdiction and on the application of the death penalty on Indian reservations. Biden has received high marks from tribal leaders on these issues.
The Obama-Biden administration generally enjoyed strong support on its handling of native issues, after a very slow start at the outset of the administration in handling gaming land acquisitions. As a senator, Biden generally deferred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Indian legislative matters, and would most likely work closely with this committee and the House Resources Committee if elected president. Biden has not issued a Native policy statement to date, but has expressed remarks at 2020 Native American issue forums supportive of tribal sovereignty and decision-making. Like Sanders, a President Biden would more than likely appoint Department of the Interior officials supportive of Indian gaming.
Bloomberg is a wild card with respect to Indian gaming. As a late entrant to the 2020 presidential race, he has not, to date, issued a Native American policy. However, he has been meeting privately with tribal leaders, most notably in Oklahoma. As mayor, Bloomberg did not have extensive relations with the federally recognized tribes in New York, including the Shinnecock Nation on Long Island, where Bloomberg has a home.
Regrettably, in August 2010, just after he was elected to a third term as mayor, Bloomberg supported New York Governor David Paterson’s plan to tax cigarettes on Indian reservations. While the plan failed and was widely opposed by the tribes in New York, Bloomberg continued to support the plan, and colorfully added that the governor should “get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun,” and alluded to Paterson standing in the middle of the New York State Thruway saying he was going to “enforce the law.”
Mayor Bloomberg was widely ridiculed in Indian Country for these comments, and they have resurfaced during the current campaign. Bloomberg doesn’t have a record of opposing commercial casinos generally, and even proposed casinos in New York City as mayor. To set tribes at ease during the campaign, Bloomberg would do well to elaborate on his support for tribal jurisdiction vis a vis state governments. Given his lack of experience in Indian Country as compared to Sanders and Biden, Bloomberg is the biggest risk and unknown with respect to the future growth of Indian gaming.
As the campaign progresses, native leaders would be well advised to gather more specifics on Indian gaming from each of these candidates.
