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Wednesday, August 13, 2003

The head of the nation's largest Indian gaming group went on national television last night in an attempt to dispel negative perceptions of the $14 billion and growing industry.

Ernie Stevens Jr., president of the National Indian Gaming Association, appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor," a Fox News Network show hosted by Bill O'Reilly, a popular firebrand known for treating guests with differing views in a less than favorable manner.

O'Reilly stuck to that image, interrupting Stevens frequently to make just one point: tribes should make financial and other information about their casinos public. "But why don't you open your books?" he asked. "See, that would -- that would silence the critics."

Stevens agreed with O'Reilly's argument. "We're working on that very intensely," he said.

But when Stevens tried to point out that the information should be shared in a spirit of goverment-to-government cooperation, O'Reilly jumped to another topic: the July 14 raid of the Narragansett Tribe's smoke shop.

Even when confronted with the shift, Stevens stuck to his theme. "It goes back to communication and tribal sovereignty," he started to say until O'Reilly interjected again.

The entire segment lasted less than 10 minutes, which was about the same amount of time O'Reilly dedicated to the topic on a June 16 show with Bill Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and James Steele, a TIME editor and co-author of a critical series on Indian gaming. On that show, Steele said the industry was "not regulated" and that it was a "possible scam."

"This thing was sold on the basis this would uplift Native Americans, that it would be economic development, that this was, in effect, going to be a payback," Steele said. "But what we've seen is that the profits from many of these casinos have flowed to precious few Indians."

O'Reilly introduced Stevens as providing a rebuttal to those comments, but he didn't give Stevens that moment until end of the segment -- with just 30 seconds left on the clock.

Stevens, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, made the best of the time, pointing out that tribes have created 300,000 jobs nationwide. "We're providing good quality homes, education, health care, health service," he said. "We're doing great things out there."

"All right," was O'Reilly's response. Then: "Just open your books, Mr. Stevens. That's what I think you should do."

Stevens stuck to his message: "Open the dialogue between sovereign to sovereign."

Regulation of Indian gaming is divided among three sovereigns: federal, state and tribal. NIGC's budget for the coming year is $12 million, which is based entirely on fees assessed on tribal casinos. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) has introduced a bill to allow the agency's resources to grow and shrink with the market.

Relevant Links:
National Indian Gaming Association - http://www.indiangaming.org
National Indian Gaming Commission - http://www.nigc.gov
The O'Reilly Factor - http://www.foxnews.com/oreilly/index.html

Related Stories:
Campbell introduces IGRA amendments (8/5)
NIGC's Hogen warns Okla. tribes on games (5/19)
NIGC asks for greater authority over industry (5/15)
Indian gaming agenda discussed at meeting (02/28)
McCain cites rising tide against Indian gaming (2/26)
Stevens files Alaska Native gaming rider (01/24)
Hall hits 'home run' on C-SPAN (12/18)
Norton: Indian gaming raises 'concerns' (12/20)
'We're going to do it right' (12/13)

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