Page 22 - October 2005 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation Gives to Hurricane Katrina Relief
On September 7th the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation gave $50,000 to the San Diego Chapter of the Red Cross to assist with local relief e orts in the Gulf Coast states after
therampageofHurricaneKatrina.
Sycuan Tribal Chairman Daniel Tucker and Treasurer Glenn
Quiroga presented the funds at Storm Aide, a fundraiser held at SanDiego’sQualcommStadiumandhostedbyAMRadioStation KOGO, Fox 6 News and several other Clear Channels stations. Sycuan also donated an additional $50,000 to the national Red Cross for direct assistance.
“As with the Cedar Fires, many members of our tribe know the devastation of losing your home and all of your possessions,” said Tribal Chairman Daniel Tucker. “ at is why Sycuan was
Gaming Tribes Send Aid to Hurricane Katrina Victims
aming tribes and organizations across the “NIGA and our member tribes are absolutely committed of Sovereignty Foundation, Attn: Hurricane Katrina United States have been working to raise to assisting in the relief e ort and are asking all American Fund, 224 Second St. S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003. money for the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Indian tribes to help in this dark hour. Our thoughts and e National Congress of American Indians has also
Relief Fund. Spearheading the fundraising e orts are two of the nation’s largest Native American groups, the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).
“ is is one of the worst tragedies in American history which demands our full-scale attention and concern as these regions begin rebuilding their lives, communities and economies out of the decimation that occurred earlier this week,” said NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr.
prayers are with all of the victims, the survivors and their families at this time.”
NIGA contributed $5,000 to begin the e ort and called upon all tribes to help meet a $1 million goal for the relief fund.Tribes located in the Gulf Coast states survived with minimal collateral damage, NIGA representatives said, but those tribes have been a ected by power outages and by the ow of people from the coast to the reservations seeking assistance. Donations may be made to the Spirit
set up a relief fund to assist tribes and their members in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Six federally recognized tribes are located in the three states that were most signi cantly impacted by Katrina.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Indian Nations located in the region a ected by Hurricane Katrina,” said NCAI President Tex G. Hall in a statement.“It is times like this when it is important for Native people to come together to help one another out.
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so eager to help the thousands of unfortunate people who have lost loved ones, been left homeless or otherwise a ected by
this tragedy.”
In addition to the financial contributions, Sycuan
also announced they will hold a job fair for Gulf State refugees who have been displaced to San Diego. Sycuan currently employs about 4,000 people throughout its
resort and casino properties and recognizes that the hurricane victims will need job stability. Sycuan has also set up a collection center at its casino for guests who wish to
donate to the relief efforts.
For more information on how you can help with the
hurricane Katrina relief e orts, contact www.redcross.org
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Tribes in the News