by Franklin Ducheneaux

About the author: Franklin Ducheneaux is a private consultant whose clients include the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. He was the counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs from 1973 to 1990. The field of Indian gaming has been plagued by misperceptions, distortions and outright lies which many of us in the Indian community believe border on economic racism....

Let me first lay to rest one of the biggest myths created by this atmosphere of distortion and lies. Despite what Donald Trump and his high-priced lawyer state in their judicial attack on Indian people, IGRA [the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act] did not—I repeat—did not authorize Indian tribes to engage in gaming free of state regulations.

Indian Tribes Are Sovereign Governments

To the contrary, the enactment of the IGRA was...