INDIAN CASINOS: WHAT’S NEXT?

A town hall meeting for television and radio

NET Television, Nebraska’s state public broadcasting network, in association with Native American Public Telecommunications, will produce a broadcast “town hall” style meeting on the future of casino gambling on American Indian reservations. The taping is a feature of the annual conference of the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), to be held in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The event will take place August 13, 2005 in NET’s studios before an estimated audience of 150 people, primarily made up of journalists attending the NAJA convention. A 90-minute discussion is planned, which will be edited to a 60-minute program to air soon after on NET. A number of other stations around the country have already committed to airing the broadcast. It will be distributed nationally by NAPT for use by any PBS affiliate. The entire 90-minute discussion will air on radio nationally courtesy of AIROS (American Indian Radio on Satellite).

The objective of the program is to provide an open and balanced forum to discuss the current state of casino gambling operated by Native American tribes, as well as the economic and social impacts on the reservations and the surrounding communities.

Areas of discussion would likely include:

• Should tribes share their gambling revenues with state and local governments?
• Should tribes be allowed to operate casinos off reservation?
• Is the current system of regulation successfully keeping the games honest?
• Are tribal casinos being treated fairly by state and federal governments?
• Are the economic benefits to Native Americans from gambling real and sustainable?
• What responsibility do tribes have to deal with the problems of gambling addiction on and off the reservation?
• What trends define the future of Native American gaming?

A panel of 4-6 national level experts in the area will be participating. Already committed to take part are:

• Mark Van Norman, Executive Director, Executive Director of the National Indian Gaming Association. He previously served as Director of the Office of Tribal Justice, in the U.S. Department of Justice. Since it was established in 1985 as a non-profit organization, NIGA has represented 184 Indian Nations engaged in tribal gaming enterprises. The organization describes its purpose as "a clearinghouse and educational, legislative and public policy resource for tribes, policymakers and the public on Indian gaming issues and tribal community development."
• Kurt Lugar, executive director of the Northern Plains Indian Gaming Association. The organization promotes the interests of its twenty-eight tribal members from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming, and Montana.
• Ernie Goss, Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University. Dr. Goss has studied the economic impacts of gambling regionally and nationally and has a book forthcoming on casino gambling, including significant research on those operated by Native Americans. He has served as a visiting scholar with the Congressional Budget Office for 2003-04. Newspaper citations include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, The Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Sun Times and other national and regional newspapers and magazines.
• Charlene Alden, gaming manager for the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. This 5,000 member tribe located in southeastern Montana operates the Charging Horse Casino at Lame Deer, employing 44 people. The tribe recently entered into a new partnership that would substantially expand its gaming operation. First year gross revenues from the project are forecasted to be $36 million.
• Lauren Ekdahl, United Methodist Church, Nebraska Conference. Prior to his current appointment as Superintendent of the Northwest District of the Nebraska Conference, Rev.Ekdahl served as pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church for 14 years and a six-year term as East District Superintendent. In 2004 he became a prominent figure in a campaign against bringing casino gaming to the State of Nebraska as a member of the advisory committee to “Gambling With The Good Life.” He is a graduate of Holdrege High School, received his undergraduate bachelor of science degree in religion from Nebraska Wesleyan University and his master of divinity degree from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo.

The discussion will be moderated by Patty Loew, a veteran broadcast journalist and host of Wisconsin Public Television’s news magazine In Wisconsin. A published author with three books to her credit, Ms. Loew is an Assistant Professor teaching Native American issues at the University of Wisconsin.

The format will allow for panelists to participate in an open, civil discussion. Video segments will provide viewers background on key issues and serve as a springboard to introducing new topics to the panel. At various times written questions collected from the studio audience will be shared with the panel. In the final half hour of the forum questions will be taken in an “open mic” format from the journalists attending the town hall.