While I am not a legal expert on tribal sovereignty, based upon my own first-hand experience as a Commander of a State Police unit monitoring tribal gaming on a Connecticut reservation, I do not believe this is the outcome or state of affairs that either Congress or the courts expected or anticipated.

I have analyzed numerous state-tribe gaming compacts that allow tribes in most instances to create and apply their own set of laws. Based upon my experience and research here are some examples of situations permitted to exist at Indian gaming facilities:

• Non-Indian employees of recognized Indian tribes are not protected by either state or federal labor laws. A recent OSHA ruling that threatens this state of affairs is being heavily attacked by tribal hired lobbyists in Congress. Non-Indian employees are subject to arbitrary laws created by the tribe and their tribal courts. Employees and patrons of casinos on federal reservations effectively relinquish their constitutional rights.
• If Indian children, elders or women are abused on a reservation and tribal police and tribal courts do not or refuse to respond, the abuse simply continues. State child protection and sexual assault laws do not apply. Given that the tribal police and tribal courts usually are under the influence of the tribal authority, this happens more than the public realizes. Recently a tribe in Minnesota was found to be protecting child predators.
• Casinos can legally ignore their debts. As a sovereign nation a tribe can purchase goods or contract for services and legally refuse to pay for the purchase or default on the contractor. The aggrieved cannot file a civil suit in state court to recover the money. If they can find an attorney to represent them in a tribal court, they can attempt to recover the debt, but the court is in the employ of the tribal government and serves at its whim. Recently, a gaming tribe in California refused to pay a contractor. This contractor tried to pull off of the project until the debt was settled. The tribe refused the company access to the reservation to recover its heavy equipment. The contractor was out what he was due and also deprived of his means of making a living. Why? The tribe has sovereignty.
• The Indian Casino Industry is not supposed to violate federal regulations and laws but they do every day. It is a commonly known fact that government agencies funded by taxpayer dollars don’t enforce these regulations. The NIGC, BIA and DOI are predominantly understaffed, incompetent, self-serving and disorganized. By 1996, the NIGC reported that 84 percent of the Indian Gaming facilities audited were out of compliance with federal regulations. Many casinos had not been audited yet. Mohegan Sun had its first audit in 2004 after 8 years of operation. The report still has not been completed. The Tribal Gaming Commissions on reservations are supposed to be regulating but they are, like the tribal police and the tribal courts hired and fired by the people in power. It would seem obvious that the casino makes more money if their actions and policies are not restricted.
• American citizens cannot sue tribes or their representatives in most cases. We have to obey all laws. If I go into another state, I must obey that state’s laws. Sovereignty was intended for Indian self-government on Indian land, not to allow them to be above the law off of their reservations. They can use the state courts to bring suit against non-Indian individuals or businesses, but the same individuals or business concerns cannot use the same court to bring such suits against a federally recognized tribe. Yet, these tribes are constantly seeking to expand their jurisdiction over non-Indians. In the past year, tribal interests attempted to add an amendment onto a Homeland Security bill whereby any non-Indian coming on to Indian lands would be subject to tribal law. This would have included casino patrons. Luckily the amendment was deleted.
• Tribes and their investors have enough money and rights to abuse state and federal courts. The average citizen could not afford to stand up to the monetary juggernaut a gaming tribe can bring to bear. If a recognized tribe wants the right to build a casino but lacks the proper land to put one on, they simply bring an "in terrorem" (intended to terrify) land claim suit to take thousands of acres from state or private landowners, on the oftentimes unfounded claim that the tribe once owned the land and was illegally taken from them hundreds of years ago. If they are given the rights to gaming, they drop the lawsuit. Some call that "blackmail." In the meantime, millions of dollars in taxpayer monies are spent and valuable hours of court time are wasted. So far, the tribes have even been able to file frivolous, slanderous and baseless suits against individuals who threaten their interests without consequence even though many states prohibit such actions. The defendant still has to bear the associated legal costs to get the suit dismissed, but the defendant cannot bring a counter-civil suit against the tribe to recover these expenses.

This situation is not going to change on its own. The gaming tribes have spread their influence to the corridors of both the state and federal government. As a result, government officials at all levels have done little or nothing to cause effective change. America is supposed to be the land of equal opportunity. Our governmental officials are supposed to represent the will of the American people, not those of purported "sovereign Nations."

Citizens must learn how tribal sovereignty destroys the principles our country was founded upon. When people grasp the fact that politicians are actually making and enforcing laws that favor one ethnic group over others, they often say "How can that happen here?" It is happening.

"Reservation shopping" could land a major casino operation in anyone’s backyard. This means local businesses being shut down, influx’s of foreign worker at low wages, inflation of real estate values and heavy strains being placed on local social agencies and school systems, not to mention the increase in crime and political corruption. Citizens, who are well educated, informed and organized, sending a clear, unified message to officials at both the state and federal level is the best weapon against this national trend.

Bradley Beecher is the owner of Thetis Consulting, a firm specializing in advising corporations and community groups in the areas of security and gaming. He was the commander of the Casino Unit for the Connecticut State Police where he designed and implemented law enforcement operations at two of the world’s largest casinos. He was employed by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority where he supervised regulatory investigations and assisted in creating the Tribe’s Department of Athletic Regulation. Mr. Beecher’s experience also includes pari-mutuel gaming regulation as well as fraud prevention and detection. For additional information visit his Web site: http://www.thetisconsulting.com

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