The 13th annual Western Indian Gaming Conference> kicked off in Palm Springs, California, on Wednesday.

Richard Milanovich, the chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, welcomed tribal leaders to the Palm Springs Convention Center. He said tribes were hurt by the recent campaign to overturn gaming compacts signed by his tribe and three others.

Anthony Miranda, the chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, gave the annual State of Tribal Nations address. He thanked voters for supporting the compacts but said challenges lie ahead.

Past chairs of CNIGA met for a panel and talked about the history of the organization amid the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. They said tribes fought every step of the way in order to exercise their inherent rights to engage in gaming.

The conference concludes today. CNIGA holds its annual membership meeting tomorrow.

Get the Story:
Gambling tribes promise to keep sharing profits with reservations that lack casinos (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 2/14)
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Victories softened by fights (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 2/14)
Gambling technolgy on display at conference (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 2/14)
Gaming compacts left strains, Milanovich says (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 2/13)