MADERA COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Preserving Economic Opportunity for Indian Tribes through Gaming
WHEREAS since 1778, every treaty with Native American Tribes has been violated by the U.S. Government, those betrayals along with systemic discrimination has denied Indigenous People economic opportunity which has contributed to Native Americans suffering the highest poverty rates in our nation; and
WHEREAS in 1998, 2000, and 2008, California voters granted and upheld the sovereign right of California’s Native American tribes to operate highly regulated gaming facilities on their own tribal lands; tribal gaming has raised billions of dollars to lift many tribes out of poverty, delivering access to higher quality of life on Indian Reservations including higher incomes, improved health, higher levels of education and reductions in drug and alcohol addiction, and this revenue builds prosperity far beyond Indian reservations, uplifting tribal and nontribal communities alike; and
WHEREAS if Native American tribes are to fully recover from the poverty and disadvantage imposed upon them, exclusive rights to gaming on tribal lands will continue to be an essential part of sustaining their economic success and self-sufficiency, but competition from non-tribal, corporate gaming interests now pose a significant threat to that recovery, and Native American tribes could slide back into a cycle of poverty;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Madera County Democratic Central Committee stands with Native American tribes and supports preserving the rights awarded to them to exclusively operate gaming in-person on their own tribal lands; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Madera County Democratic Central Committee opposes efforts to expand off-reservation gaming that would encroach on the success of Native American gaming which has created a path to prosperity and opportunity for Native Americans.
Submitted by: Alex Rooker
Authored by: Alex Rooker, CDP Vice Chair Emeritus & Sergio Carrillo, Vice-Chair of Los Angeles Democratic Party and Region 16 Regional Director California Democratic Party
Main Contact: Alex Rooker Phone: 562-761-4733