The historical trajectory of Indigenous peoples in California, and across the United States, has been marked by profound hardship and relentless resilience, a narrative starkly illustrated by the genocidal policies championed by California’s first governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett. In the mid-19th century, Burnett publicly vowed that his racist campaign would persist "until the Indian race becomes extinct," instigating a brutal two-year tenure that saw widespread malnutrition, rampant homicide, and forced migrations. This era, coinciding with the California Gold Rush, witnessed a catastrophic collapse of California’s Native populations, decimating their numbers by nearly 90% between 1848 and 1900, as settlers flocked to the state, overwhelming Indigenous lands and resources. Yet, despite these systemic attempts at annihilation, Burnett’s destructive campaign ultimately failed; California’s Indigenous people survived, their spirit and cultural heritage enduring against unimaginable odds.

A pivotal moment in this ongoing struggle for self-determination arrived in 1905 when the United States government publicly disclosed a series of 18 treaties it had secretly negotiated with California tribes decades earlier, but which the U.S. Senate had refused to ratify. These unratified treaties, though legally dormant, represented a profound acknowledgment of tribal existence and land rights, providing a crucial historical and moral foundation for future claims. In response, these tribes, along with others across the nation, began the arduous process of constructing robust legal and economic frameworks to assert their inherent tribal sovereignty – the fundamental right of Native nations to govern themselves. This long legal and political battle culminated significantly with the enactment of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988, a landmark piece of legislation that legally sanctioned and regulated tribal gaming operations. Soon after, modest casinos began to emerge on reservations in states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Southern California, laying the groundwork for what would become a nationwide industry. These enterprises, quickly evolving into sophisticated resorts and entertainment complexes, generated unprecedented economic benefits, transforming reservations and providing critical resources to fuel the enduring struggle for tribal sovereignty.

A recent comprehensive study from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Project on Indigenous Governance and Development offers compelling insights into how this gaming industry has become a cornerstone for tribes to accumulate vital economic and political capital. Authored by a distinguished team of Indigenous researchers—Randall Akee (Native Hawaiian), Elijah Moreno (Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation), and Amy Besaw Medford (Brothertown)—the report provides a nuanced and data-driven perspective on an often-misunderstood sector. The researchers underscored the pervasive influence of tribal gaming, noting, "In reality, nearly every tribe is impacted by gaming in some capacity, whether directly or indirectly." They further posited that "past studies on American Indian gaming likely understate its impact, as nearly every tribe in the US may be exposed to various aspects of the industry whether they directly operate a casino themselves or not," highlighting the ripple effects throughout Indigenous economies and beyond.

The sheer scale of tribal gaming’s contribution to the national economy is staggering. Last year, tribes reported a colossal $43.9 billion to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), accounting for nearly 40% of the nation’s total $115 billion in gaming revenue, according to data from the American Gaming Association. This substantial revenue stream empowers tribes to self-fund essential services and programs that were historically underfunded or entirely absent due to federal neglect and systemic disadvantages. These include critical investments in healthcare infrastructure, educational initiatives from early childhood to higher education, support for small businesses, community development projects, cultural preservation efforts, and philanthropic endeavors that benefit both tribal members and surrounding non-Native communities. This economic leverage marks a dramatic shift from decades of dependency on often insufficient federal appropriations, allowing tribes to address their own unique needs and priorities with autonomy.

While tribal gaming has faced its share of criticism, often centered on concerns about the negative social impacts of gambling, the Harvard study offers a crucial counter-narrative by systematically examining gaming economies and their transformative effects on tribal investments, both within Indigenous communities and the broader U.S. economy. Researchers meticulously analyzed 14 key indicators—including population dynamics, income levels, poverty rates, labor force participation, housing conditions, and educational attainment—across reservation communities in the Lower 48 states between 1990 and 2020. Notably, the vast Navajo Nation, with its unique demographic and geographic scale, was studied separately to ensure analytical precision. The study’s conclusions are unequivocal: gaming has been instrumental in revitalizing tribal economies, enabling them to strategically leverage revenue into political capital. This capital directly funds powerful advocacy groups, most prominently the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), which actively lobbies for the protection and advancement of tribal sovereignty in Washington, D.C.

The tangible impact of this political capital was recently demonstrated in early September, just weeks before his sudden passing on September 26, when Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr. (Oneida Nation) joined forces with Native-run lobbyists in Washington, D.C. He met with NCAI leaders representing influential tribes such as the Ponca Tribes of Nebraska, Pechanga, Cherokee, and Muscogee Creek Nations. This powerful coalition of the nation’s largest gaming tribes converged on Capitol Hill with a unified message: to remind Congress of the significant economic contributions of Indian Country. Stevens, a tireless advocate for tribal self-sufficiency, emphatically stated, "In the Indian gaming world, we’re responsible for 700,000 jobs. We continue to help this world turn, and we don’t do it by asking for help. We do it to help. Ask people to understand what we do is for our communities, for our generation and generations to come." This statement encapsulates the ethos of tribal self-determination – a commitment to generating wealth not for individual gain, but for collective community upliftment and intergenerational prosperity. Stevens also reported that tribal gaming revenues, including those from ancillary amenities like entertainment venues, conference facilities, food services, and lodging, had successfully rebounded to "pre-COVID levels," demonstrating the sector’s resilience and robust recovery after the pandemic-induced shutdowns. He credited his mentors—Rick Hill, Gay Kingman, and Tim Wapato—not only with the implementation of tribal gaming laws but also with forging crucial relationships with Congress to lobby effectively for tribal sovereignty.

Under Stevens’ visionary leadership, the NIGC strategically utilized existing treaty laws to expand tribal gaming operations, leading to an impressive increase in revenues exceeding $20 billion. This financial growth empowered tribes to fund a comprehensive array of essential services, including modern housing developments, quality education programs, comprehensive health care facilities, and other critical capital projects that uplift their communities. During a recent federal government shutdown, the NCAI lobby’s proactive engagement with Congress in September proved instrumental in safeguarding vital federal programs like the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) from devastating furloughs and funding cuts, which are crucial trust obligations of the U.S. government to tribal nations. Furthermore, tribes with substantial gaming revenues were able to provide critical assistance to their own citizens and extend aid to those from tribes lacking casino reserves, offering food security and maintaining tribal government employee payrolls even as their federal counterparts faced furloughs. However, as the shutdown protracted, these tribal financial reserves, though substantial, inevitably dwindled, underscoring the precariousness of relying solely on self-generated funds during prolonged federal disengagement. The human cost of such shutdowns was starkly articulated by Ben Mallott, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, who, on October 29 as the shutdown approached its month-long mark, informed the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs that Alaska’s Indigenous people were being forced to make an impossible choice between "food or fuel." In response to this crisis, exacerbated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong ravaging the western Alaska coast in October, the NCAI and gaming tribes swiftly mobilized to provide crucial donations and support, exemplifying inter-tribal solidarity. Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner articulated this spirit, stating, "As Cherokees, we have long-settled traditions of coming together and helping others, but especially in times of tragedy or catastrophes such as this. Our word for it is Gadugi, which at its core is all of us working together and supporting one another."

The Harvard report further highlights that "tribes with successful casinos also often play a significant role in funding community development, benefiting both tribal and non-tribal communities." A prime example is the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which has leveraged its significant success in the gaming industry to invest heavily in extensive community projects and provide substantial support to other tribes across Minnesota, showcasing a model of economic empowerment that extends far beyond their immediate reservation.

The Pechanga Band of Indians in Southern California stands as a powerful testament to this transformative journey. In 1906, a year after California tribes obtained their treaty rights, Bureau of Indian Affairs employee C.E. Kelsey successfully petitioned the federal government to acquire an additional 235 acres, expanding the Pechanga’s land base in Riverside County. Decades later, when Mark Macarro assumed the chairmanship of the Pechanga Band of Indians in 1995, the tribe had just opened its first modest casino. While state law lagged, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 5 in 1998, a ballot initiative that legalized and regulated tribal gaming across the state. Throughout that pivotal campaign, Macarro tirelessly advocated, emphasizing that Prop. 5 would be a boon not just for tribal economies, but for the fundamental principle of tribal sovereignty. In 2002, the tribe inaugurated a sprawling 200,000-square-foot casino and resort in Temecula, California, situated on the historic Kelsey Tract. Today, this expansive resort stands as one of the county’s largest overall employers, providing thousands of jobs to both Native and non-Native workers, illustrating its profound regional economic impact.

In 2004, Katherine Spilde, chair of the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming at San Diego State University and a respected expert on tribal gaming who was raised on the White Earth Nation in Minnesota, conducted a separate Harvard study examining casino gambling’s impact on overall economic well-being. Spilde’s research on the Pechanga tribe underscored the profound shift: "Pechanga government’s gaming and resort revenues have allowed the Tribe to effectively eliminate its reliance on other governments and to create opportunities that benefit the entire region." She concluded that the results were "a sense of independence and self-determination among Pechanga citizens, and productive and mutually supportive relations with the surrounding communities where once there was very little positive interaction between the Tribe and its neighbors." This illustrates how economic self-sufficiency fosters not isolation, but enhanced partnership and mutual respect with neighboring jurisdictions. In September, prior to the recent federal shutdown, Chairman Macarro observed that both Congress and administration officials were increasingly recognizing the efficacy of tribal self-determination. "We have much more work to do," Macarro acknowledged, "but we leave this week with momentum, with allies on both sides of the aisle, and with a shared understanding that when tribal nations thrive America thrives."

Tribal sovereignty, a fundamental legal principle rooted in inherent rights and treaty obligations, endures and is significantly strengthened by healthy, self-sustaining economies. Ensuring that the U.S. government consistently meets its trust and treaty obligations requires ongoing, dynamic negotiations and a deep understanding of the nation-to-nation relationship. In an era where the U.S. government is experiencing significant political shifts and budgetary pressures, the NCAI consistently advocates for the recognition that economically robust tribes are not only self-sufficient but are also well-positioned to contribute positively to the broader U.S. economy, reducing federal burdens and fostering regional prosperity.

Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. candidly acknowledges that some tribes continue to grapple with serious budget challenges, often exacerbated by recent federal government funding cuts. This reality, he emphasizes, makes the NCAI’s lobbying efforts absolutely vital to protect essential projects and services that are perpetually threatened by shifting federal priorities and political whims. "We’re pointing out where the Congress can do better, where the agencies can do better; we’re pointing out that self-determination is the law of the land, and it’s not only the law of the land, it is a prescription that works," Hoskin affirmed. He further elaborated on the collective responsibility, stating, "While we may be able to absorb some of the damage done by cuts, there are tribes for which this is absolutely consequential in terms of stopping services. We’re using our resources to do it and asking that the United States ought to step up and help us do it." This powerful message underscores that tribal self-determination is not merely a legal concept, but a proven strategy for fostering resilient communities, contributing to national well-being, and upholding the solemn commitments made by the U.S. government to its first peoples.