Message
from the Chairman
 Dear
Friends,
Sagoli Swakweku – Greetings from Washington,
D.C.
Recently, NIGA joined the National
Congress of American Indians (NCAI) at their annual Mid-Year
conference in Niagara Falls, New York. There, leadership of
both organizations came together in critical dialogue to the
strategy as we move forward on behalf of Indian country
through the remainder of the first year of the 111th Congress.
It is very apparent that on the top of the Agenda continues to
be our fight in defending Tribal sovereignty.
The "Employee Free Choice Act of
2009,"(EFCA) (S.560) was recently introduced to both the House
and the Senate. EFCA is offered to establish an efficient
system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor
organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair
labor practices during organizing efforts. However, the
proposed EFCA in its current form diminishes our sovereign
rights as tribes, as the definition of governments excludes
tribal governments.
While Indian country has a long history
of support for Unions, we must stringently oppose the
EFCA,because of the proposed erosion of tribal
sovereignty.
NCAI echoed NIGA by passing a
resolution opposing the EFCA unless it is amended. With that,
both organizations have committed to continuing to work on
your behalf on Capitol Hill to this effort.
I thank Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI);
who without hesitation championed our cause by offering
amendments to the act that includes Indian tribes and
acknowledges our sovereign rights as governments.
It is important that Tribal leadership
act now by notifying Senate about our concerns. Together,
let’s send a strong unified and resounding message that Indian
country cannot compromise our Sovereign
rights.
Ernest L. Stevens, Jr.
PRESIDENT
OBAMA SIGNS THE NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY BILL INTO
LAW
The National Indian
Gaming Association applauded the passing into law of H.J. Res.
40: “The Native American Heritage Day Resolution 2009,”
(H.J. Res. 40), supported by NIGA, the National Congress of
American Indians (NCAI), and other national Indian
Organizations.
The law designates Friday after
Thanksgiving [Friday, November 27, 2009] as “Native American
Heritage Day” as a day to pay tribute to Native Americans for
their many contributions to the formation of the United
States. The Resolution, introduced by Congressman Joe
Baca (D-CA 43rd) was met with unanimous support in both the
House and the Senate and President Barak Obama signed the bill
into law on June 26, 2009.
Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman
said, “Signing this bill into law officially
recognizes, remembers and formally celebrates the history,
achievements and certainly the major contributions to the
American democracy by Native America.”
“This is another
giant step towards setting the stage for a proper accordance
and educational awareness of the Native American story, which
is a proud account of dedication and achievements which
chronicle’s the important contributions to the creation of
this great Nation’s governmental framework throughout
history.
“Native America’s continued dedication to
defending this Country in every major battle by service in the
United States Military, at a higher per capita rate than any
other group in America, is just one example of those
contributions.”
Stevens added, “I am profoundly
grateful for the generations of dedicated tribal leaders who
fought, despite the many challenges to maintain, strengthen
and rebuild a way of life that was deprived. This law
will bring awareness to those actions that devastated our
Native Communities as a whole. But more importantly,
recognizes the perseverance of the Native American people.”
Stevens concluded, “On behalf of NIGA and its 184
member Tribes I want to thank Rep. Baca, all of the great
Congressional leadership and the President of the United
States for their support in the passage of this Resolution
into law. This day of recognition will provide a
mechanism that further strengthens and acknowledges the
uniqueness of the government to government relationship of
this Country and America’s First
People.”
FIRST MEETING OF AIBN BOARD GENERATES EXCITEMENT AND
OPTIMISM
The American
Indian Business Network (AIBN), a venture of the National
Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), held its official inaugural
meeting with a full quorum on Wednesday, May 20, during the
17th Annual Great Plains/Rocky Mountain/Midwest Indian Gaming
Conference and Trade Show held at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
in Prior Lake, MN.
Tribal leaders and conference
attendees participated in AIBN’s first historic meeting, which
included an AIBN progress update, addresses from AIBN board
members, and brainstorming and exchanges of ideas among board
members.
AIBN was created by NIGA in 2003 as a forum
for Indian businesses to showcase products and network with
other business owners and customers and provides qualified
Indian businesses, and those seeking to contract services from
them, with an opportunity to make a difference in the economic
success of Indian Country.
AIBN
members are given access to a database of requests for
proposals by other AIBN members, tribal gaming operations, and
Indian tribes and are invited to events designed to introduce
Indian vendors to tribal leaders. In addition, members of AIBN
are given the opportunity to participate in NIGA’s American
Indian Business Network Expo, a trade show that features
Indian-owned businesses.
Blue
Stone Strategy Group CEO Jamie Fullmer opened the meeting with
an AIBN progress update and addressed the overall goals of the
AIBN and it’s future benefits to Indian Country."The goal of
[the AIBN] is the creation of a national Indian Country
economy with a focus on building hubs for commerce and trade,"
said Fullmer. "We are also focusing on increasing "buy Indian"
initiatives by not only tribes, but tribal entities, including
tribal owned casinos and other enterprises."
NIGA
Executive Director Mark Van Norman then addressed the crowd
and unveiled the newly constructed list of the AIBN board of
directors, which include NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens, Gary
George, Richard Bower, Kurt Luger, J.R. Matthews, Andy Ebona,
Jay Emory, and Margo Gray-Proctor.
Van Norman also
proclaimed the AIBN as an official 501(c) (6) corporate
structure, an accomplishment that had been in the works since
the creation of the AIBN.
Chairman
Stevens called the meeting to order and thanked AIBN board
members and those in attendance for their unending support for
the AIBN.
"I want
to thank everyone that is involved [in the AIBN]. A lot of
folks got frustrated with this process when we first started,
but we never gave up and are reenergized with new faces and
determination," said Chairman Stevens. "This is our time and
we are ready to go. Let’s make the AIBN a success for Indian
Country."
The
meeting then proceeded with the AIBN first quarter report from
Fullmer, who also stressed the importance of "buying Indian".
Since its inception, AIBN has subscribed to a vision of "buy
Indian" to encourage members, gaming industry officials, and
tribal governments to help their own by buying goods and
services from Indian businesses and entrepreneurs. By "buying
Indian", AIBN contends procuring tribes and gaming officials
will contribute to the encouragement of entrepreneurship and
sustainable economic development, as well as the increase of
wealth, employment, and education for tribal
nations.
"The
challenge that we’ve always had is getting tribes involved
because a lot of Indian vendors wanted to sell to tribes.
There is room enough at the table for everyone to prosper and
that is one of the areas where we saw the value of [the AIBN]
on a multitude of levels," said Fullmer.
Fullmer’s also addressed the
AIBN’s current main focuses such as partnering and joint
venturing among tribes, developing co-ops for increased buying
power, regional economic development, and creating opportunity
with vertical integration.
Fullmer
then opened the floor up for members to voice their
suggestions for future AIBN meetings, with many members
expressing their excitement in being a part of the AIBN and
opting to dedicate an entire day to future AIBN
meetings.
NEXT AIBN
MEETING:
Thursday, July 23,
2009
Hyatt Regency Capitol
Washington,
D.C.
www.indiangaming.org
CHAIRMAN'S
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
 
WELLS FARGO
BANK
Providing Succesful Native American
Banking Services since 1995
NIGA Associate Member since
1999
Since 1995, Wells Fargo Native American
Banking Services has been operating as a specialized unit to
provide customized service to tribal nations.
Steve
Stallings, director of Native American Affairs, said NABS also
serves as an internal resource to Wells Fargo business units
with tribal customers.
This two-pronged approach to services
has led to the bank providing services to over 165 tribal
nations.
The bank has navigated tribes through
the financial landscape over the years and continues to
provide services to new tribal nations looking for financial
solutions in any economic climate.
One of those customers is the National
Indian Gaming Association.
Wells Fargo has worked with NIGA as one
of the original associate members and has been providing
financial and technical support since 1995.
"Due to our support for NIGA and the
Indian Gaming industry, Wells Fargo dedicated $300,000 to a
scholarship at the American Indian Graduate Center to support
Professional Development among Indian students in the
hospitality and gaming industry," Stallings said.
There is much more to the bank besides
scholarships, however.Over the past decade, Wells Fargo has
lent over $3.1 billion to tribal governments for gaming and
other tribal purposes.
The relationship with tribes and Wells Fargo
has grown steadily through the years.
"We expect as tribes continue to
progress, they will need additional capital for development
purposes, as well as financial services in investments,
insurance and banking," Stallings said.
He compared lending to tribes to traditional
lenders from the gaming industry, or public finance of local
governments.
"What is different is the unique
sovereign status of the tribes," Stallings said. "We treat
this as a special relationship where the customer is a
government, a business, and a community of people."
Because the banking industry has been
providing financial services to tribal governments since the
1950s, more and more tribes are seeking lending opportunities
as their needs have grown.
"It is just a natural progress for us
to grow our service to them," Stallings said.
Of the 165 tribes that are customers of
Wells Fargo, one third utilized the bank as exclusive provider
of financial services.
Wells Fargo has customers throughout
Indian Country and continues to strive for service and safety,
especially in today’s economic climate.
Although no part of the economy could
avoid the impact of the downturn, Wells Fargo has confidence
in the industry because they have invested in responsible and
professional customers, he said.
"We are impressed with the performance of
tribal gaming and tribal management," Stallings said.
He said look for growth opportunities
in the next 18 to 24 months and to consult your banker early
as a resource to test ideas and help solve problems.
"At Wells Fargo, we are not looking for
just the next big deal from our tribal customers," Stallings
said. "That’s why we are the number one home mortgage lender
on Indian reservations."
GENERATION 7,
LLC.
Generation
7, LLC Recognized for Service to Indian
Country
Generation 7, L.L.C., a
company exclusively dedicated to providing financial
consulting to tribes and tribal members and a sponsor of the
National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), was recently
recognized for its service to Indian Country when CEO and
founder Stephen Drake was honored with a nationally coveted
award.
Generation 7
Chief Executive Officer Stephen Drake received the "2009 Top
Financial Planners" Award in recognition for his work in
Native American tax and financial planning from the Consumer
Research Council of America, an independent, nonprofit
consumer research organization based in Washington
DC.
The
award is given out annually to the top financial and tax
planners throughout the country. Candidates for the award are
chosen based on factors such as experience in the field of
financial and tax planning, professional degrees held,
educational degrees held, publications written and membership
in professional organizations. Drake has been a CPA, CFP (R),
and personal financial specialist as designated by the
American Institute of CPA’s for more than 30 years. He has a
PhD in Finance and a Masters in Taxation.
Drake received
the award based on the specialized team approach at Generation
7 and Granite Mountain Investments L.L.C., a company that
focuses on conservatively building wealth with exceptional
returns for the next 7 generations.
"Although I’m honored to
receive this coveted award, I could not have earned it without
the entire team at Generation 7 and Granite Mountain. We
specialize in Indian Country and work to exceed our client’s
expectations," said Drake upon acceptance of the
award.
Founded in
2002 with the assistance of international law firms
specializing in Indian affairs, Generation 7 L.L.C.,
specializes in reducing current taxes to tribal members on the
per capita they receive and is committed to addressing the
financial concerns of tribal nations, including investments,
estate conservation, and tax strategies. Since its inception,
Generation 7 has become the leading tax deferment company in
the country and is currently the only Patent Pending Tax
Deferment plan that delays current income taxes on Native
American Per Capita Distributions. The Generation 7 program,
managed by highly experienced professionals with decades of
experience in tribal affairs as well as tax and financial
matters, focuses on reduction of taxes, saving accumulation,
more investment choices, and preparing for the future and
future generations.
NIGA
Legislative Update
Coburn
Amendment to S. 982 DEFEATED
Senator Coburn (Oklahoma) introduced an
amendment to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control
Act, S. 982. The amendment would have allowed State
authorities to enforce federal tobacco laws effectively
stripping Tribes of the right of self-government in that
area.
The Constitution of the United States,
through the Treaty, Commerce, and Apportionment Clauses and
the 14th Amendment, recognizes the sovereign status of Indian
Tribes as Native nations established prior to the United
States, including the right to self-government.
In furtherance of its policy of respecting
tribal self-governance the United States has entered into 370
Treaties with Tribal Nations, reinforcing not only the
government to government relationship between Tribal Nations
and the United States but also the Tribal right of self-
government . Those treaties must be honored and protected from
damaging legislation.
Thankfully Senator Coburn’s amendment failed
and S.982 passed the Senate without damaging Tribal
sovereignty.
Carcieri
v. Salazar
On February 24, 2009, the Supreme Court
decided in Carcieri v. Salazar, that the Secretary of the
Interior has authority to take land into trust under the
Indian Reorganization Act (25 U.S.C. secs. 465, 479) only for
Indian tribes that were under Federal jurisdiction at the time
of its passage in 1934. The Narragansett Tribe admittedly was
not under Federal jurisdiction in 1934, accordingly the
Supreme Court held that the Secretary erred by acquiring land
in trust for the Narragansett Tribe under 25 U.S.C. sec.
465.
The Court ruled that the Indian
Reorganization Act in Section 479, which states that it
applies to Indians "now under Federal jurisdiction," refers
unambiguously to the date of its enactment in 1934.
Accordingly, the Secretary’s authority to acquire land for
Indian tribes in trust under IRA Section 465 is limited to
Indian tribes under Federal jurisdiction at the time of its
enactment in 1934.
This case does not affect Indian tribes that
were under Federal jurisdiction prior to 1934, nor does it
affect the trust land of Indian tribes where those lands were
acquired by the Secretary pursuant to a Federal recognition
statute authorizing the acquisition of such lands in
trust.
For lands held in trust for Indian tribes
recognized after 1934, if the lands were taken in trust more
than six years ago, the statute of limitations should bar any
challenge to the trust status of the land.
First, to protect the justifiable
expectations of Indian country, NIGA and NCAI are calling on
the Secretary of the Interior to apply this case prospectively
and defend all existing land holdings. We must call upon the
Secretary to honor his trust responsibility.
Second, the Secretary should work with
Congress to amend the Indian Reorganization Act to restore the
justifiable expectations of Indian country and to recognize
the fact that all Federally recognized Indian tribes should
have the right to acquire trust land for governmental and
community purposes. We must call upon the Administration and
Congress to immediately enact legislation to overturn the
Supreme Court’s Carcieri decision.
Employee
Free Choice Act
On March 10th, the "Employee Free Choice Act
of 2009" (EFCA) was introduced in both the House and Senate
(S.560). Tribes need to act now and notify the Senate about
Indian Country’s concerns. The Congressional leadership has
decided that the EFCA will be voted on first by the
Senate.
NIGA will continue to oppose the EFCA
unless it is Amended to Treat Indian Tribes as Governments. At
the NCAI mid-year conference in Niagara Falls, Tribes came
together to pass a Resolution opposing the EFCA unless it
contains an amendment treating Tribes as governments under the
NLRA. The Resolution unequivocally states:
"…that the NCAI does hereby call on Congress
to include language (in the EFCA) treating Indian tribes as
other governments for purposes of the NLRA in any amendments
to the Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI opposes
the Employee Free Choice Act unless and until tribes are
treated as governments for all purposes under the
NLRA;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI
supports the amendment offered by Senator Inouye and
legislative language consistent therewith;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI thanks
and commends Senator Inouye for his leadership on this issue
and his continuing dedication to protecting Tribal sovereignty
and faithful adherence to the Constitution;"
NIGA has always maintained that Indian
tribes should be treated as governments under the Federal
labor and tax laws. For example, in 2000, NIGA worked to
secure treatment of Indian tribes as governments for purposes
of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. We are also seeking
treatment of Indian tribes as governments under the Federal
pension law. Naturally, as government employers, Indian tribes
continue to support employee rights and interests and tribal
governments have established tribal pension protections.
Indian Country has a long history of support
for union members. For example, through the Iron Workers
Union, Native Americans have participated in raising the high
rise towers that are the foundation of city skylines. Many
tribes have worked out agreements with the building trades in
constructing gaming and hotel facilities. Indian tribes have
always supported employee rights within the context of tribal
law and tribal self-government.
However, as Senator Inouye and Tribal
leaders have discussed, there is no room for negotiating
Tribal sovereignty. We are confident that with the Resolution
passed by NCAI at their mid-year conference and the Amendment
offered by Senator Inouye, Indian Country is moving ahead with
protecting Tribal sovereignty and securing treatment on par
with State and Federal Governments under our Nation’s labor
laws. |
IN
THIS
ISSUE
Native American Heritage Day Act of
2009
Designates Friday, November 27, 2009 as Native
American Heritage Day
Encourages the
people of the United States, as well as, federal, state and
local governments and interested groups and organizations, to
observe such day with appropriate programs, ceremonies and
activities related
to:
-The historical status of Native
American tribal governments, as well as the present day status
of Native Americans;
-Native American cultures,
traditions and languages; and
-The rich Native
American cultural legacy
AIBN
Board of
Directors
Ernie
Stevens, Jr., Chairman
Richard
Bowers
Margo
Gray-Proctor,
J.R. Mathews
Kurt Luger
Andy Ebona
Jay Emory
Gary George
Jamie Fullmer, CEO
Blue Stone
Strategy
Group
NIGA NOW ON
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fan!
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