Tribal and state officials pledged to work together as the Western Governors' Association summit on Indian gaming ended on Wednesday although there appeared to be no clear consensus as to what actions might come next.

Tribal representatives praised Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (R), the chair of the WGA, and South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) for inviting them to the table. Organizers said 23 tribes and five tribal organizations, along with developers who support Indian gaming, attended the two-day summit in Denver.

"I think this is a first in Indian Country that I've seen" of such prominent tribal involvement in the WGA, said Charles Colombe, the president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.

Kurt Luger, the executive director of the Great Plains Indian Gaming Association, extended invitations for Owens, Rounds and other states to take a more active role in tribal affairs. "Dialogue and communication is absolutely necessary to get through this," he said. "It's hopefully going to be an era of negotiation for Indians. Litigation is not the way to go."

During two days, summit attendees waded into several controversial subjects, most notably off-reservation gaming. Yet while almost everyone -- including tribal and state representatives -- sounded alarms on the practice, there wasn't much agreement on what might be done about it.

Owens said the WGA would consider adopting a policy statement on potential changes to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Two key members of Congress -- Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California) -- are examining amendments to the law in light of growing concern over off-reservation casinos.

But when Owens asked whether that effort might prove successful, I. Nelson Rose, a Whittier Law School professor who is considered an expert on gaming law, responded with a negative assessment. "Close to zero," Rose said of the chances of amending IGRA.

Rose noted that tribes "gave up sovereignty" when the act was passed because it gave states a say over what happens in Indian Country. "Today, [tribes] are fighting like crazy: 'Don't touch it, Don't open it,'" he said.

Luger confirmed that sentiment when he said tribes view attempts to re-open IGRA with great suspicion. "We see no reason to open up the act" with regard to the section of the law that defines how land is taken into trust for gaming purposes.

South Dakota's Republican attorney general Larry Long didn't want to give ground either. He said the Interior Department's process for acquiring trust lands is unconstitutional in a lawsuit heard two weeks by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes tribes in five Plains states.

"I think gaming has changed the entire landscape," he told attendees.

Bill Johnson, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, said people should give off-reservation casinos a fair shake rather than looking for ways to rule them out entirely. He is helping his tribe with a proposal to build a casino in Grand Forks.

"Trust the process," he said. "There haven't been a lot of exceptions under IGRA."

Steve Hillard, a Colorado developer and CEO of Council Tree Communications, defended his work to help the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma open an off-reservation casino outside of Denver. He denied the tribes and their financial backers -- including some Alaska Native corporations -- were trying to get the project approve through a Congressional rider.

"It was an absolute fizzle," he said.

But he ran into criticism from Owens, a major opponent of the proposal, and Wayne Mitchum, the chairman of the Colusa Indian Community of California. "We play by the rules," Mitchum said to scattered applause.

And Mark Van Norman, the executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association, said the organization opposes any attempt to amend IGRA through Congressional riders.

Over the past few years, various members of Congress have attempted to amend IGRA. Just last year, retired Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) proposed a bill to make it harder for states to take a share of tribal casino revenues and to clarify technology used in casino games, a topic of a panel at the summit yesterday.

But the bill floundered after several states objected to both provisions. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) decried the effort as an attempt to prevent tribes from paying their "fair share" to the state.

Tribes supported the language but at the same time they say they won't support amendments to IGRA that fail to address the 1996 U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Seminole Tribe v. Florida case. The court held that states cannot be sued if they fail to negotiate Class III gaming compacts with tribes.

That issue, however, is a non-starter among states who value their sovereignty just as much as tribes. "I think the U.S. Supreme Court has abrogated its responsibility," Rose argued in reference to the decision. "They gave no guidance to the states, to the tribes and even to the federal government."

The WGA's next meeting takes place in Breckenridge, Colorado, in June. Owens said the governors will review what took place at the summit and decide what positions, if any to take. "As we move forward, we want to ensure that state laws and citizen decision-making are respected for any expansion of gaming," he said.

Relevant Links:
Western Governors' Association, Gaming Summit - http://www.westgov.org/wga/meetings/gaming.htm