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Native American representatives say the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz Democratic ticket could bring the most extensive knowledge of Indian gaming ever to the White House.
Harris and Walz both have backgrounds working with tribes in states where Indian gaming is prominent.
Before joining the U.S. Senate and becoming vice president under President Joe Biden, Harris was attorney general for California, where she oversaw the Bureau of Gambling Control. Walz currently serves as governor of Minnesota, where he has a track record of working with tribes.
Indian Gaming Association (IGA) Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr. and Holly Cook Macarro, a tribal advocate and lobbyist in Washington D.C., joined IGA Executive Director Jason Giles and Conference Chairman Victor Rocha this week on a webcast discussion about the potential impact of the presidential campaigns on Indian Country.
“This ticket, the Harris-Walz, might be the most educated about tribal sovereignty, about gaming in particular, because of where they come from and the experience that they bring to the table,” Macarro said.
Walz highly regarded for relationship with Minnesota tribes
When Harris named Walz as her running mate, she gained favor in Indian Country.
As a member of Red Lake Nation in Minnesota, Macarro said it has been a fun few days watching others get to know her governor.
“It was a historic partnership in the level of access that tribal leaders had to the administration,” Macarro said. “This might seem like window dressing for some folks, but we know how important it is for elected officials to visit our communities. … And Gov. Walz became the first governor in the history of the state of Minnesota to visit all 11 reservations.”
Macarro highlighted Walz’s support for tribal exclusivity over Minnesota sports betting, although legislation has yet to reach the finish line. Additionally, after the Minnesota Racing Commission’s attempt to authorize historical horse racing against objections from Minnesota tribes that it violated their slot exclusivity, Walz appointed two tribal members to the commission.
“Those things are really very public and high-profile statements in support of tribes, tribal sovereignty and the communities they represent,” Macarro said.
Much of the tribal appreciation for Walz stems from him choosing Peggy Flanagan as his lieutenant governor. Flanagan, a citizen of White Earth Nation, has been a staunch advocate for the rights of indigenous people.
“I know that part of the work and the success that he’s had with tribes in the state of Minnesota is due in large part to his partnership with Peggy Flanagan,” Macarro said.
If Walz becomes vice president, Flanagan would become the first Native American woman governor in US history.
“I think choosing Gov. Walz was a big move because we have someone who just has a very pro-Native American history, and I think that’s very important to us to at least give us some optimism,” Rocha said.
Tribal leaders happy with Biden administration
The tribal leaders say Indians have fared better under the Biden administration than perhaps any previous president.
Biden appointed 70 Native Americans to positions in the federal government, more than any prior administration. This included Deb Haaland as US secretary of the interior, the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary.
“Those are the folks on a day-to-day basis who interact with tribal leaders, implement policies, put forth regulations,” Macarro said. “All of these things that have such a huge impact on the ground in Indian Country.”
Under Haaland, Interior defended the Seminole Tribe’s compact, the first under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to include statewide online gaming. Interior then put out federal rules and regulations providing clarity on how tribes can participate in online casino and online sports betting.
“You can’t deny that President Biden’s administration, I think with Secretary Haaland, was one of the most supportive administrations [to Native Americans] in the history of the United States,” Rocha said. “You just have to look at the Seminole deal and the support the Seminole Tribe got from Deb Haaland and the Biden administration. And if it wasn’t for this administration really looking to help the tribes, especially with online gaming and sports betting, the support they gave the Seminoles is reverberating through Indian Country. And that wouldn’t have happened without a pro-Indian Country president, and that is Joe Biden.”
Harris optimism stems from Biden administration
Harris was part of the Biden administration that valued and heard tribal concerns. Her experience under Biden, sponsorship of priority tribal legislation in Congress and choice of Walz as running mate provide the tribal leaders with optimism she would continue Biden’s progress in building relations with Indians.
“I think it’s been a giant step forward to be able to work with this administration the way we have,” Stevens said. “We must hit the ground running and let her know where we come from. It won’t be starting from scratch, we won’t have to do that. But we have to anticipate that we still have to do our work that created all these great things under the Biden administration.”
Macarro said it’s unlikely Haaland would remain interior secretary under Harris. Cabinet secretaries rarely stay through two administrations, and Haaland might have her eyes set on running for governor of New Mexico.
But Macarro does think Harris would follow Biden’s lead in appointing Native Americans to positions in the federal government.
“We don’t often see engagement from the White House on specific Indian policies,” Macarro said. “That decision-making authority is delegated to the political appointees at the Department of the Interior or other relevant agencies. But given the level of familiarity that we have here, I think either the appointments will be very well informed or we may see some activism from the White House.”
Harris wasn’t a popular AG with California tribes
Harris has a more mixed history of tribal relations in her time as attorney general of California.
Tribes asked her to crack down on what they perceive as illegal gaming offerings by California cardrooms. She did not, and tribes still feel that cardrooms are violating their exclusivity on house-banked card games.
As AG, Harris also sent 15 letters to the Bureau of Indian Affairs opposing fee-to-trust land acquisition applications by California tribes.
In these instances, Macarro said Harris explained that, as attorney general, she was serving the governor.
“There were four attorney generals who failed to act on the tribes’ requests to crack down on the cardrooms,” said Macarro, who is married to California’s Pechanga Band of Indians Chairman Mark Macarro. “Not that that makes it any better, but that issue was not specific to Kamala Harris and I think she pointed to the governor.”
Tribes were not happy with prior Trump administration
Giles explained why Native Americans weren’t happy with their treatment when Donald Trump was president.
Their frustration with Trump goes beyond the Congressional testimony 30 years ago when he denounced tribal gaming as “they don’t look like Indians to me.”
Giles said Trump took away the White House Indian office and put it in the Interior. The Trump administration also got rid of a lot of the tribal offices at the agency level, eliminating many tribal liaisons.
Giles added that Trump’s Republican running mate for vice president, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has a limited but negative record with tribes.
“The only time I heard him mention Indians is when he said Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a fake holiday,” Giles said. “He’s also against renaming some forest in Ohio that’s named after a Revolutionary-era general who removed a lot of Indian tribes.”
Stevens said he thinks tribes still did OK during the prior Trump presidency. And if Trump is elected again, Stevens is optimistic Indians can make progress with his administration.
He noted that his father worked closely with the Nixon administration and increased economic development for Indians.
Rocha concluded:
“Maybe even with Trump, hopefully he can see the good that has happened in Indian Country with tribal gaming and support us.”
