Economist addresses impact of Indian gaming

By Nikki Ducheneaux
for the Char-Koosta News

MISSOULA - Just one week after the controversial expiration of the state's gaming compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), approximately 40 concerned citizens gathered in Missoula to learn more about the socio-economic impacts of gaming on both Indian and non-Indian communities.

On Friday, Dec. 8, at the University of Montana School of Law, Jonathan Taylor, a researcher and economist with the Harvard Project on Indian Economic Development, presented his recent study on the Indian economy in Washington state, and the fiscal, social and economic effects of Indian gaming in that state.

Taylor noted in his presentation that state governments have "an interest in seeing Indians continue to close the very substantial socioeconomic gap with non-Indians, so that Indian dependence on other taxpayers and governments is eliminated."

Indian gaming has proven to be one of the most important ways that modern tribes have found to close that socioeconomic gap.

Although Taylor's research focused on Washington tribes, it was very relevant to the current controversy here in Montana. Responding in part to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer's recent comments about state jurisdiction over gaming, Taylor noted that his research in Washington revealed that the most effective and efficiently run tribal governments are those that exercise the fullest extent of their powers of self-government.

He spoke about how Indian gaming has been a substantial benefit for both tribal and non-tribal economies in Washington. When a tribe opens a casino, it provides jobs and tax revenue not only on-reservation, but also off the reservation for non-Indians, he pointed out.

The Harvard economist referred to data that showed that after the introduction of an Indian casino, non-Indian communities located near the reservation were "better off after the casinos were developed."

Taylor's study also revealed that tribes that were successful in gaming expanded their powers of self-government to build resources and infrastructure to benefit the broader community. One successful gaming tribe Taylor studied, the Jamestown S'Klallam, built its own community health clinic. When the area's largest medical clinic closed in an unrelated development, the tribal clinic opened its doors to the community. Today that clinic serves about 6,000 people, including a majority of non-Indian community members.

Other tribes have used their resources to provide education, substance abuse treatment, and natural resource management - all to the benefit of both the tribal and non-tribal communities.

He commented in a brief e-mail exchange this week that while he is not concluding much at all about Montana gaming, the one main finding from his Washington study, that he believes extends from Washington to Montana "without qualification," is that "Indian casinos do not harm tax collections off reservations."

Also speaking at last Friday's presentation was Jason Giles, the general counsel for the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) in Washington, D.C. Giles told the audience that the NIGA fully supports the CSKT's actions in standing up to the state and asserting their rights.

At the conclusion of his prepared presentation, Taylor fielded audience questions. Harold Monteau, partner in the Monteau & Peebles law firm and expert on Indian gaming, was in the audience and clarified many of the legal concepts at issue in the local gaming controversy.

Ernestine Roullier Ducheneaux, a tribal member and member of the tribal gaming commission, also attended the lecture. "All the evidence seems to show that expanding Indian gaming will be such a good thing for everyone - for the state, for tribal self-governance," he commented. "And yet Governor Schweitzer won't negotiate. This was very timely to what is going on with the Tribes. The presentation made me aware of the good things that can happen when tribes have the opportunity to expand gaming. I really wish that the state officials and state legislators had been here to hear this presentation."

More than 50 state legislators and all of the executive branch state officials involved in the gaming negotiations were invited to the presentation.

The only state official in attendance was State Representative Teresa Henry.

Several tribal officials were in the audience, including CSKT Council Representative Mike Kenmille and Blackfeet Tribal Councilman and MTGA vice-chair Roger Running Crane.

It should be noted that the 5 p.m. presentation was scheduled at the same time as the wildly popular U of M Grizzlies semi-final playoff football game.

Taylor's presentation was a collaborative effort by the University of Montana chapter of the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) and the CSKT.