CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Preserving Economic Opportunity for Indian Tribes through Gaming

WHEREAS since 1778, every treaty with Native American Tribes has been violated by

the U.S. Government, those betrayals along with systemic discrimination has denied

Indigenous People economic opportunity which has contributed to Native Americans

suffering the highest poverty rates in our nation; and

WHEREAS in 1998, 2000, and 2008, California voters granted and upheld the

sovereign right of California’s Native American tribes to operate highly regulated gaming

facilities on their own tribal lands; tribal gaming has raised billions of dollars to lift many

tribes out of poverty, delivering access to higher quality of life on Indian Reservations

including higher incomes, improved health, higher levels of education and reductions in

drug and alcohol addiction, and this revenue builds prosperity far beyond Indian

reservations, uplifting tribal and nontribal communities alike; and

WHEREAS if Native American tribes are to fully recover from the poverty and

disadvantage imposed upon them, exclusive rights to gaming on tribal lands will

continue to be an essential part of sustaining their economic success and selfsufficiency,

but competition from non-tribal, corporate gaming interests now pose a

significant threat to that recovery, and Native American tribes could slide back into a

cycle of poverty;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party stands

with Native American tribes and supports preserving the rights awarded to them to

exclusively operate gaming in-person on their own tribal lands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Sonoma County Democratic Party opposes

efforts to expand off-reservation gaming that would encroach on the success of Native

American gaming which has created a path to prosperity and opportunity for Native

Americans.

Resolution co-sponsored by the Sonoma County Democratic Party on June 14, 2022

Submitted by: Alex Rooker

Authored by: Alex Rooker, CDP Vice Chair Emeritus & Sergio Carrillo, Vice-Chair of

Los Angeles Democratic Party and Region 16 Director California Democratic Party