Page 16 - May 2003 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Tribal Governments Lead TCalifornia in Job Growth
ribal government economies have for three years led the state in job growth, with employment doubling since January 2000, California Employment Development Department gures show. The
explosion of employment on Indian lands has largely been generated by the expansion of tribal government gaming, which was approved by California voters in separate referendums in 1998 and 2000. Tribal governments employ 36,300 workers, according to state gures, more than twice the 17,200 workers on tribal payrolls in January 2000.
“These jobs were created without a dime’s worth of tax incentives that normally are required by large rms and industries doing business in California,” said Jacob Coin, executive director of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.
“About 90 percent of these jobs are held by non-Indians living in communities surrounding tribal reservations and rancherias.”
The growth in employment in California Indian Country has come during a period of economic decline statewide, according to labor department statistics. Civilian employment in the year ending in February was up 204,000, or 1.3 percent, according to state gures. Tribal government employment for the same period rose
9.3 percent.
Casino income is tribal government revenue that, by federal law, must be used to
fund tribal government programs; provide for the general welfare of the tribe and its members; promote tribal economic development; contribute to charities; and help local government agencies absorb the impact of tribal casinos.
IAndian Nations Honor Lori Piestawa
Cahuilla Band Donates to Local Firefighters Association
On April 12th Cahuilla Creek Casino made a $2500 donation to the CDF Fire ghters Association at the 6th Annual Fallen Fire ghter Memorial Bowling Tournament In Murrieta. Members of the Cahuilla Band of Indians and their families were on hand to show their support for the association and share in the fun.
fund has been set up for the family of 23-year old Lori announced that they had set up the Lori Piestawa Piestawa, a mother of two children who was the first Memorial Fund, a trust fund for Piestawa’s
U.S. female soldier killed in the Iraq war. Piestawa, a children. Over the three-day conference,
member of the Hopi Tribe from Arizona, was the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving the U.S. military. Piestawa’s 507th Army Maintenance Company was
ambushed on March 23 near Nasiriyah, Iraq.
During the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA)
2003 Annual Trade Show and Convention in Phoenix, 90-year old Joseph Saubel from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, who years before served in the same unit as Piestawa, spoke to the gathering. To honor Lori Piestawa, Saubel’s family
NIGA received over $85,000 in pledges for the Lori Piestawa Memorial Fund. Further donations can be directed to:
Lori Piestawa Memorial Fund c/o NIGA
224 2nd Street SE Washington, DC 20003
Agua Caliente Band Donates $1.1 Million to Coachella Charities
On April 12, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians donated $1.1 million
to 64 Coachella Valley charities and
civic organizations. Recipient organizations included the Palm Springs Fire Department,
18 veterans groups, seven youth sports programs, the Noli Indian School, the
Rancho Mirage Library, the Shoes That
Fit Program, the Assistance League of Palm Springs, the California Council on Problem Gambling, the Mizell Senior Center, and the United Way.
United Way of the Desert General Campaign Chair Tom Freeman said, “Through their many years of generous support to the United Way of the Desert, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have clearly achieved a positive difference in the quality of life for people in the Coachella Valley. The Tribe’s tradition of outstanding community support sets a higher bar for leadership and parallels their native heritage of nurturing and protecting
their land.”
Page 16 May 2003
Tribes in the News