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Governor Schweitzer proposes gaming extension

By Maggie Plummer

POLSON - The day before the reservation's class III gaming machines were unplugged last week, Gov. Brian Schweitzer flew to Polson for a quickly-called meeting with local gaming operators.

Approximately 150 area residents, both tribal members and non-members, attended the Wednesday afternoon meeting, which was held at the Elks Lodge on Polson's Main Street. Among those who spoke during the gathering were Tribal Policy Analyst Jami Hamel and Tribal Communications Director Rob McDonald.

The governor said he would sign a proposal he'd brought along, asking for an extension on the current gaming contract. He added that his proposal would be delivered to the Tribal Council that same day.

That proposal, which the Council rejected the next day, would have postponed the deadline for a gaming contract between the state and the Tribes until May 1, presumably allowing time for the state legislature to address jurisdiction issues, according to Schweitzer.

The state had previously offered to extend the current gaming compact, and the Tribes had also previously rejected that offer.

"They want jurisdiction," Schweitzer told the crowd, referring to the Tribes. "I don't have the statutory authority to grant that jurisdiction."

He explained that his attorneys were telling him he cannot make such a decision, and he is legally obligated to listen to those attorneys.

"If I did have the authority to grant (this gaming) jurisdiction (to the Tribes)...I would not grant jurisdiction," the governor said later in the meeting, which was covered by television, radio and newspaper reporters.

He also told the gathering that he does not support the expansion of gaming in Montana.

Some casino owners wondered what good an extension would do, saying that it would just put off the inevitable.

At one point, Schweitzer asked how many in the room were license owners, and about 40 people raised their hands. None of those 40 hands stayed up when the governor asked them to vote by a show of hands how many think that jurisdiction over gaming on the Flathead Reservation should be passed to the Tribes.

McDonald questioned Schweitzer about the state's most recent compact proposal, which included a revenue offer to the Tribes of roughly $200,000 of the state's Flathead Reservation gaming income. McDonald said that in that recent proposal there was no mention of an additional $500,000 of revenue per year being offered by the state to the Tribes, as the governor had reported to the media.

"You should speak to your Tribal Chairman," Schweitzer told him, adding that he had spoken with Chairman Steele about the additional $500,000 offer.

The exchange between McDonald and the governor grew heated as Schweitzer repeatedly asked, "Is the question jurisdiction or money?"

Deanne Sandholm, the state's lead negotiator in the gaming talks, shared the microphone with the governor for a few comments. "There is a difference of opinion in the interpretation of IGRA (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act)," she said.

It appeared that most people didn't understand what tribal jurisdiction over Flathead Reservation gaming would involve.

Hamel spoke up, pointing out that gaming rules under tribal jurisdiction would be enforced equally to all businesses on the Flathead Reservation, whether they're tribal member-owned or not.

"We know in Montana that we're never going to get rich on gaming," said Hamel, who is also chair of the Montana Tribal Gaming Association. She added that people here have watched tribes in Washington and Idaho get wealthy on gambling, but that the Tribes here are more interested in creating jobs and providing health care for the tribal membership.

"We're looking at just a small portion of revenue," she told the gathering. "The Tribes have gotten zero, nothing, from the state from gaming on our reservation. We are one of the only tribes in the nation who give gaming money to the state."

She said that the gaming negotiation staff went to the U. S. attorney to ask about jurisdiction over gaming on the reservation, and were told that Indian land and federal land pre-empt state land. Also, Hamel added, IGRA pre-empts state law.

"The (Tribes') position has always been to uphold the sovereignty of our nation," she continued. "...the only sticking point has been the jurisdiction."

Referring to the earlier show of hands about tribal jurisdiction, Hamel questioned the gaming operators about their concerns: "Is it really jobs, or is it the Tribes regulating it?"

Schweitzer pointed out several times that he has great respect for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, their leaders, and their sovereignty as a nation. He ended his remarks by saying that "the most important point here is mutual respect."