Ernie Stevens, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, called on California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to apologize for claiming that "the Indians are ripping us off."

"His comments are divisive and beneath the dignity of the highest office in California," Stevens said at the National American Indian Court Judges Association conference in Palm Springs. "In a state with the largest Indian population in the country, I would like to point out that California has benefited greatly off the backs of Indian people -- both in the past and the present."

Tribal leaders have criticized Schwarzenegger for his remarks, made during a campaign appearance against Proposition 70, a pro-tribal gaming initiative. But Schwarzenegger won't apologize, and his office says he meant that the Indian are "trying" to rip California off by seeking passage of Prop. 70.

"These tribal governments are using gaming to rebuild their communities and to provide a better future for their children. To say that the tribes are 'ripping us off' is both incorrect and offensive to the memory of those ancestors who stood in the way of the greed of Manifest Destiny," Stevens said. "The railroad, mining and land speculators that backed the government's policies of genocide and termination took what they wanted from Indian people and never looked back."