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FACTS ABOUT INDIAN GAMING
U.S. Snapshot of Tribal Governmental Gaming:
- 562 federally-recognized Indian Tribes
- 224 Tribal Governments engaged in gaming (Class II or Class III)
- 354 Tribal Governmental gaming operations (several Tribes operate more than one facility)
- 28 states with Tribal Governmental gaming: (Class II or Class III)
- 249 Tribal-State gaming compacts
- 400,000 plus jobs created - 75% held by non-Indians
(In areas of high unemployment, 80% of Tribal governmental gaming employees are Indian)
Tribes & Per Capita Payments:
- Three-fourths of gaming Tribes devote all of their revenue to Tribal governmental services, economic and community development, to neighboring communities and to charitable purposes. 75% of tribes do not give out per capita payments.
- Tribal government services, Economic and Community development, general tribal welfare, charitable donations and any requirements for aid to local governments must be provided for before a Tribe can file for a "Revenue Allocation Plan."
- The Secretary of the Interior must approve any per capita payments as part of a "Revenue Allocation Plan."
- Only about one-fourth of Tribes (73 tribes) engaged in gaming distribute per capita payments to tribal members.
- Tribal members receiving per capita payments pay federal income tax on these payments.
Regulation & Indian Gaming:
- Tribal Governmental gaming is regulated on three levels.
- Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), Indian Nations and Tribes are primary regulators of Indian gaming. IGRA stipulates that Tribes establish the basic regulatory framework for Indian gaming.
- State regulation may be included in Tribal/State compacts for Class III gaming.
- Federal agencies enforce laws relating to Indian gaming, including the National Indian Gaming Commission, the Interior Department, the Justice Department, FBI, IRS, Secret Service and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
- Federal law makes it a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison to steal, cheat, or embezzle from an Indian gaming operation. That law is enforced by the FBI 18 USC § 1163.
Taxes & Tribal members:
- All Indian people pay federal income tax.
- All Indian people pay FICA taxes.
- All Indian people pay social security taxes.
- Only those Indians who live and work on their own federally recognized reservations - not unlike soldiers and their families living on military installations - are exempt from paying state income and property taxes.
Tribal Use of Net Revenues:
- Revenues from Tribal Governmental gaming must be used in five specific areas as stipulated by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710 [Sec. 11].
- Net revenues from any tribal gaming are not to be used for purposes other than -
- to fund Tribal Government operations or programs;
- to provide for the general welfare of the Indian tribe and its members
- to donate to charitable organizations; or
- to help fund operations of local government agencies
- To promote tribal economic development.
FACTS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICA
By all statistical measures, American Indians are among the poorest people in the country.
Despite the historic trust status with the U.S. government, tribal governments struggle to provide health, education, housing and related programs for their people.
There are 2 million American Indians living in America today and 562 federally recognized tribes.
Arizona has 22 federally recognized American Indian tribes.
38 percent of Indians, 6 to 11 years old, live below the poverty level, more than twice the number of the average U.S. citizen.
16 percent of Indian males and 13 percent of Indian females 16 years and older are unemployed as compared to 6 percent for average Americans.
The suicide rate for 15 to 24 year-old Indians is more than twice that of any other American or ethnic group.
Indians die younger than any other segment of the population. 13 percent of Indian deaths are under the age of 25. This compares to 4 percent of the U.S. population.
The alcoholism death rate for Indians age 15-24 years old is more than 17 times the comparable rate for other Americans.
Homicide is the second leading cause of death among Indians 14 years old and younger and the third leading cause of death for Indians 15-24 years old.
Before World War I, Indians living on Arizona reservations were not legal U.S. citizens. Although Indians were exempt from the draft when the country entered the war in 1917, more than 8,000 Indian men and women voluntarily served in the Armed Forces.
Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924. Despite their being made U.S. citizens, Indians were not eligible to vote in Arizona.
Facing World War II and the need for a universal draft, Congress again affirmed the citizenship of all Indian people "on or off reservation" in the Nationality Act of 1940.
More than 25,000 Indian men and women served in the armed forces in World War II. But in Arizona, Indians were still not allowed to vote.
After a lawsuit filed by two Yavapai men, Frank Harrison and Harry Austin, the Supreme Court of Arizona ruled on July 15, 1948, that Indians had the right to vote.
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