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AMERICAN INDIANS DEFEND GAMING : RALLY HELD TO KEEP VIDEO MACHINES ON STATE RESERVATIONS.


Byline: Jane E. Allen Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency.
Associated Press (AP)

Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world.
 

More than 3,000 of California's American Indians American Indians: see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the; Natives, Middle American; Natives, North American; Natives, South American.  and their supporters rallied Monday against a federal move to stop casino-style electronic gaming on reservations.

``We're here for jobs and justice,'' said Lynn LeRoy, chairwoman of the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations, which organized the protest, prayers and a sage-burning ritual.

The activists contend that 15,000 jobs are in jeopardy.

Mary Ann Andreas, tribal chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians Mission Indians, Native Americans of S and central California; so called because they were under the jurisdiction of some 21 Spanish missions that were established between 1769 and 1823. , warned the crowd about federal usurpation Usurpation
Adonijah

presumptuously assumed David’s throne before Solomon’s investiture. [O.T.: I Kings 1:5–10]

Anschluss Nazi

takeover of Austria (1938). [Eur. Hist.
 of tribal rights.

``If they take over gaming, tomorrow, it could be our religion,'' she said.

Representatives of nine bands or tribes from the central part of the state carried colorful placards proclaiming their right to economic self-sufficiency.

The messages included: ``I'm Not on Welfare. I Don't Want to Be on Welfare. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see .
Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that
, You Go on Welfare,'' ``No More Broken Treaties'' and ``Hell No, We Won't Close.''

They gathered at the steps of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850.  federal courthouse to protest suits filed by U.S. Attorney Nora Manella after the tribes refused to sign an agreement to terminate ``illegal games'' or enter into compacts with the state of California by May 1.

Under a 1988 federal law, Indian tribes have the right to open casinos and offer the same kind of gambling that is legal elsewhere in a state.

In California, federal and state prosecutors interpret that to mean lucrative video slot machines are off-limits because California law California Law consists of 29 codes, covering various subject areas, the State Constitution and Statutes. See also
  • Statute
  • Bill (proposed law)
  • California State Legislature
External links
  • http://www.leginfo.ca.
 prohibits slots.

The tribes contend that the video machines should be permitted because they are not true slot machines. An estimated 12,000 of the gaming devices operate statewide in nearly three dozen Indian casinos.

On March 17, the U.S. Supreme Court asked the Clinton administration Noun 1. Clinton administration - the executive under President Clinton
executive - persons who administer the law
 to consider whether California should be forced to negotiate a gambling compact with Indian tribes. It could take months before the high court speaks to the issue.

``Nora Manella, come face us

'' one woman shouted at Monday's gathering before representatives of the nine tribes went off to be served with summons and complaints connected to the federal suits.

Richard Milanovich, chairman of the tribal council This page is about the administrations of Native American tribes and Canadian First Nations peoples. For details about Tribal Council on CBS's Survivor, please see Tribal Council (Survivor)

A Tribal Council
 for the Agua Caliente Agua Caliente (also: Aguas Calientes, Aguascalientes, etc.) means "hot springs" in Spanish. The term has several uses:

Place names:
  • Aguas Calientes, Chile
  • Agua Caliente, El Salvador
  • San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala
 Band of Cahuilla Indians, said the games are essential to tribal livelihoods. He said 65 percent of the gambling revenue produced by his tribe's casino in Palm Springs is generated by the electronic games Electronic Games was the first video game magazine published in the United States and ran from 1981 to 1985. Co-founded by Arnie Katz, Joyce Worley and Bill Kunkel, it is unrelated to the subsequent Electronic Gaming Monthly. .

He said the tribes want the U.S. Attorney's Office to provide ``as much time as we need . . . to give us a chance to accomplish a compact with the state of California.''

The state is negotiating with the Pala Band of Mission Indians in San Diego County for what could become a model compact, said Dan Tucker, chairman of the California-Nevada Indian Gaming Association. He said about 10 percent of the state's 15,000 Indian gaming jobs are held by Indians.

``We just want to have the American dream like anyone else,'' Tucker said.

Among those grateful for the revenues that the gambling brings was Andrew Maciel Jr., a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.

Per-capita checks distributing gaming revenues to tribal members ``provides me with the financial funds that enabled me to attend college,'' at San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU), founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area (generally the City and County of San Diego), and is part of the California State University system. , he said.

In addition to the Agua Caliente, Morongo and Pechanga bands, the six other Indian bands and tribes named in the suits were Santa Ynez, Cabazon, Cahuilla, San Manuel, Soboba and Twenty-Nine Palms.

They got a boost from state Sen. Richard G. Polanco, D-Los Angeles, who supports a postponement of the May 1 deadline to allow additional negotiation time.

``We ought to have a decent chapter in our history as how we treat the American Indian. We certainly have failed the others,'' he said.

Among those in the crowd was actor-director Tom Laughlin, a non-Indian who starred in a series of popular ``Billy Jack'' films beginning in 1971. An upcoming sequel due next spring features an Indian gaming storyline, he said.

``The bottom line is there's money here and the white men want it,'' Laughlin said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO American-Indian tribal leaders from California acknowledge supporters Monday as they enter the Los Angeles Federal Building.

Associated Press
COPYRIGHT 1997 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1997, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Mar 25, 1997
Words:695
Previous Article:OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE FEDERAL CRACKDOWN ON SLUMLORDS.
Next Article:CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK : FITCH CENTERS ON ROGERS OFF THE BENCH.



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