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The Political Frame
By Shalin Hai-Jew
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
SETTING THE RULES FOR
NATIVE GAMING
ABSTRACT:

Native Gaming: The Political Frame
The political frame uses a legal, policy and
procedure focus to approach the regulation of
Indian gaming. With relevant external laws and
internal tribal ones, this political frame asks
readers to consider important tribal leadership
structures and policies to support effective Indian
gaming.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Understand
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
the long-term view of where
Indian gaming may be headed
 Consider the possibilities of global Indian
gaming
 Explore the principles of sovereignty and
land use in Native gaming
 Understand some of the legal issues at
play with Indian gaming (restrictions,
land use, etc.)
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LEARNING OUTCOMES (CONT.)
 Explore
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
the tribal decision-making
process in starting and maintaining
casinos
 See the need for the “engineering of
consent” with the larger population
through lobbying and surveying;
understand the lobbying efforts of the
Native American gaming lobby
 Understand the three classes of gaming
(Class I, Class II, and Class III).
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LEARNING OUTCOMES (CONT.)
 Describe
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
leadership structures on
reservations in terms of tribal governance;
understand how these structures may
have evolved with the advent of tribal
gaming
 Understand the principle-based rationales
by the various stakeholders in Indian
gaming.
 Project where governance issues re:
Indian gaming may go in the future
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LEARNING OUTCOMES (CONT.)
Understand the litigation issues around Native
American gaming
 Describe some policy needs and changes once
casinos open.

Native Gaming: The Political Frame
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NATIVE AMERICAN SOVEREIGNTY

Native Gaming: The Political Frame
“Tribes’ ability to govern their members and territories
stems from their inherent powers as pre-constitutional
sovereign nations. As the original inhabitants of North
America, indigenous peoples governed themselves
without external influence. The federal government’s
establishment of a legal relationship with the tribes
meant that they continued to exercise extraconstitutional authority over their members. This
authority translated into the right of self-governance.
Under the doctrine of reserved rights, tribes maintain
rights they have not specifically ceded to the federal
government through treaty or agreement. Because it
implies such broad powers, ‘the right of self-government
may be (tribes’) most valuable reserved right’” (Light
and Rand, 2005, p. 19).
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INDIAN GAMING REGULATORY ACT
(IGRA)

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). In
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
1988, the Supreme Court passed the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA, or Public Law 100497) in response to a court case California v.
Cabazon and Morongo Bands of Mission Indians.
This ruling was widely seen then as the preemption
of state law by the federal government’s interest in
tribal self-sufficiency and economic development.
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EXPENSIVE BIDS FOR FEDERAL
RECOGNITION

Documentation by lawyers, anthropologists,
linguists, and others
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
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CHANGE IN NATIONAL CULTURE TOWARDS
GAMING
“benign prohibition” by the federal government
 limited allowances through IGRA

Native Gaming: The Political Frame
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THREE CLASSES OF GAMBLING: CLASS 1
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
Class I “Traditional”: Includes social games
played for low-value prizes and traditional forms
of tribal gaming associated with native American
ceremonies (exclusive tribal jurisdiction and not
subject to IGRA requirements)
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THREE CLASSES OF GAMBLING: CLASS 2
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
Class II “Bingo”: Includes bingo and other
games similar to bingo, such as lotto, pull-tabs,
and punch boards, if played in the same location
as bingo, and non-banked card games (within
tribal jurisdiction but with NIGC oversight,
subject to IGRA requirements)
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THREE CLASSES OF GAMBLING: CLASS 3
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
Class III “Casino-Style”: Includes all games not
within either Class 1 or Class II, such as slot
machines, banked card games, and casino games
(within tribal and state jurisdiction, with NIGC
oversight and negotiated tribal-state compact /
agreement, subject to IGRA requirements)
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UNIQUE CHALLENGES FOR TRIBAL
LEADERSHIP
Stable institutions and policies
 Fair and effective dispute resolution
 Separation of politics from business management
 A competent bureaucracy
 Cultural “match” (Cornell and Kalt, n.d.,
Sovereignty and nation building…, p. 12)

Native Gaming: The Political Frame
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ROLE PLAYING
 Scenario:
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
The scenario is Washington, DC.
A tribal lobbying group is meeting before the
Senate or the House that is considering a
bill to rollback (or greatly restrict / redefine
legal) Native gaming. The lobbyists need
to present their various arguments:

Historical

Legal (principle and case precedence)

Economic

Policy, and others.
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ROLES AND STANCES
 Have
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
learners choose various roles. Have
them research what an individual or group
in their role may think, and have them argue
a coherent stand. Allow room for changes
and shifts in ideas if particular aims are met.
Have them keep the aims private generally
unless they feel it’s strategically helpful to
share that with the group. See what sort of
final agreement the various individuals may
come to.
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ROLES
Identify which groups (without stereotyping) may fit
into the anti-Indian gaming lobby. Identify which
groups (without stereotyping) may fit into the proIndian gaming lobby.
 Anti-Indian Gaming Lobby:
 Pro-Indian Gaming Lobby:

Native Gaming: The Political Frame
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CONCLUSION
Native Gaming: The Political Frame
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