Bill to Promote Safety on Indian Casino Reservations Introduced as Tribal Operators Forced to Defend IGRA

Posted on: October 8, 2017, 10:00h.

Last updated on: October 8, 2017, 10:00h.

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Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

The US Senate Indian Affairs Committee (IAC) introduced a bill Thursday that seeks to strengthen public safety on tribal reservations, addressing concerns that Indian communities experience some of the highest crime rates in the US, according to federal data.

Senator John Hoeven introduces bill to promote Indian casino safety — Senator John Hoeven’s bill seeks to increase safety on Indian casino reservations amid reports of high crime rates and people trafficking. (Image: Twitter)

The bill, introduced by IAC chairman, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), is co-sponsored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and John Barrasso (R-WY).

“This bill enhances current law to ensure tribes have the tools to combat crime and keep their citizens safe and secure,” said Hoeven. “It also increases coordination between our tribal, federal and state law enforcement officials, so that we can more effectively improve safety in tribal areas and surrounding communities.

“In addition, it requires the Justice Department to track and analyze data on human trafficking of Native Americans both in and outside Indian Country.”

Human Trafficking on North Dakota Reservations

Hoeven has repeatedly raised concerns over instances of human trafficking rings operating on tribal reservations in his home state of North Dakota. Young Native American women and girls in the area are among the most vulnerable to trafficking in the US, according to the state Division of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Sex Crimes against Children Unit.

At an IAC hearing, Wednesday, tribal operators were forced to defend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act from the suggestion that it needed fundamental modification and that tribal casinos were becoming “breeding grounds” for crime and human trafficking.

“The Department is mindful that, while gaming has great potential to improve economic conditions for tribal and non-tribal communities, it can also introduce new complications to communities, including a drain on local resources, increased traffic, visitation, and crime, such as drugs and prostitution,” said John Tasuda, principal deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior.

NIGC Defends Casino Reservations

But Jonodev Chaudhuri, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, said in his testimony that the success of the Indian gaming industry is due to the expertise tribes have developed in regulating their own operations.

“The Commission believes any potential legislation related to gaming must include tribes and provide a level playing field of opportunity for Indian country,” said Chaudhuri.

“While the NIGC is not aware of any data suggesting human trafficking is any more rampant in Indian gaming than any other large commercial activity with heavy customer movement, we recognize the industry’s strong regulatory structure that provides the agency an area of opportunity to support broader efforts to stamp out human trafficking,” he added.

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Corey Sanders October 14, 2017

Paul R. Jones: So much ignorance in just a few paragraphs! Good job!
Paul R. Jones October 8, 2017

This faux 'bill' before Congress is yet one more example of US Senate Indian Affairs Committee (IAC) members being United States Constitution stupid! It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is for politicians-state and federal-to dumb down as gullible non-Indian U.S./State citizens that they-politicians-can pass common law that regulates from the womb to the tomb the health, welfare, safety, benefits, capacities, metes and boundaries of a select group of U.S./State citizens because of their "Indian ancestry/race!" And yet, here is a U.S. Senate Subcommittee dedicated to that very purpose without a shred of Constitutional authority to do so! The United States Constitution makes for no provisions for: 1. Indian sovereign nations. None of the asserted tribes possess any of the attributes of being a ‘sovereign nation:’ a. No U.S. Constitution recognition b. No international recognition c. No fixed borders d. No military e. No currency f. No postal system g. No passports h. et al 2. Treaties with its own constituency 3. Indian reservations whereby a select group of U.S./State citizens with “Indian ancestry/race” reside exclusively and to the exclusion of all others, on land-with rare exception-that is owned by the People of the United States according to a federal document readily available on-line that notes rights of renters as ‘occupancy and use’ by these distinguished U.S./State citizens with “Indian ancestry/race” only with the land owned by the People of the United States. 4. Recognition of ‘Indian citizenship’ asserted by various tribes. There is no international/U.S. Constitution recognition of “Indian citizenship” as there is no ‘nation-state’ from which citizenship is derived. A simple question for politicians and MSM to answer…a question so simple, it is hard: “Where is the proclamation ratified by the voters of the United States that amends the Constitution to make the health, welfare, safety and benefits of a select group of U.S./State citizens distinguishable because of their “Indian ancestry/race?”