Page 23 - March 2006 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
California Tribal Government Gaming Brings Jobs and Income to
Areas Most in Need of Development
UC Riverside Researchers Publish Ground-Breaking Economic and Political Study of Tribal Government Gaming
Tribal government gaming in California has brought substantial economic bene ts to tribal members and their neighbors, but there are still large gaps between the conditions on Indian reservations in California and those enjoyed by other Americans.
According to a ground-breaking report by the Center for California Native Nations at UC Riverside published in January 2006, tribal governments with gaming have fared better than non-gaming tribes, with gaming tribes’ per capita average income increasing 55 percent between 1990 and 2000 as opposed to 15 percent on non-gaming reservations.
There is also a need for a serious academic analysis. Congress, local governments, the press and the public have repeatedly asked for more information on Indian gaming than is currently available. This study provides a broad assessment of the impact of tribal governments on the state of California.”
Other findings:
• When examined at the tract level, 11% of California’s population lives near a tribal gaming facility.
• In California counties with gaming, on average there are 5.4 slot machines per 1,000 inhabitants. San Diego and Riverside Counties have 4.4 and 6 slots per 1,000 people, respectively.
• Between 1990 and 2000, the American Indian population on California reservations (gaming and non-gaming) has grown, on average, about 6 percent annually. at is more than the 2 percent average growth annually on reservations in the rest of the U.S.
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“It was a welcome surprise to see that because of where reservations are located, that the benefits of tribal government gaming are going to exactly the regions that most needed development,” said Joel Martin, principal investigator for the study and the director of the Center for California Native Nations.“Another thing that surprised me is that a survey of local, county and state government have a fairly positive view of tribal government gaming.”
Project coordinator, Kate Spilde Contreras, said the research underlines the wisdom of the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund (RSTF), created in an agreement between the gaming tribes and the State of California, to address inequalities between gaming and non-gaming tribes. According to surveys conducted by the Center, payments to
the RSTF have been invested in ways that allow tribal governments without casinos to expand their services to tribal members.“But the average income for American Indians in California is still well below the national average,” she said.
The study is based on U.S. Census Data from 1990 and 2000, as well as extensive surveys of government officials in California and interviews with tribal representatives. The UC Riverside research team unveiled results at the Western Indian Gaming Conference, held in Palm Springs
in January 2006.
“Maximizing the benefits of Indian gaming is a
goal of all governmental policy makers, especially
those from tribal governments,” said Contreras. “There is a clear need for data about Indian gaming.
March 2006 Page 23
Southern California Tribes in the News