"States and governors just can’t seem to control themselves; they cannot keep their hands out of tribal pockets. The concept that tribal governments have rights and financial needs has eluded them for so long they have become accustomed to ignoring them.

But occasionally a governor gets a hand slap for reaching too far into tribal pockets and breaching our sovereignty. An example is the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians’ legal victory over former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for illegal taxation and bad faith in renegotiating Rincon’s gaming compact.

The case affirms that occasionally tribes have the power to tip the imbalance of power states enjoy.

Schwarzenegger was a political blackmailer from the outset of his career as a California politician. He used tribes and gaming income as a wedge issue in his run for governor. It may not have been “playing the race card,” but it was a none-too-subtle “us versus them” strategy.

In an expensive television campaign, he asserted that the former governor’s deal with the gaming tribes had been too favorable to California Indians. He vowed that he make tribes pay their “fair share.” The backdrop for the campaign was the state’s continuing budget deficits and the voters’ “no new taxes” mentality."

Get the Story:
Bo Mazzetti: How Arnold Schwarzenegger Violated Tribal Sovereignty (Indian Country Today 9/21)