Video still/YouTube Toronto police surround, then open fire on, an empty streetcar in which an 18-year-old Syrian boy is brandishing a small knife. Sammy Yatim died of his wounds.
Source: Indian Country Today Media Network
Sammy Yatim moved to Toronto five years ago along with his sister, to live with their father and escape the danger of the escalating civil war in Syria, where average citizens are being slaughtered daily.
But July 26 found the 18-year-old dead, outnumbered and gunned down by police officers after he refused to drop a knife on an empty streetcar. Friends and family are shattered, and hundreds of people filled Toronto’s streets on Monday in a protest march and vigil.
“We are in very, very difficult times,” Yatim’s father, Nabil, told The Star. “He was an average kid, loved by his friends. Now, you have totally different versions coming out.”
The drama aboard the 505 streetcar late Friday night, just before midnight Saturday. According to witnesses, he was holding a knife. Police were summoned, with at least half a dozen converging on the stopped, now-empty streetcar. Witness videos caught the voices of police yelling, “Drop the knife!” while a fainter voice could be heard saying, “He’s the only one in the car.”
The car was indeed empty, but the cops start shooting. They fired nine shots, CTV News reported. Then one boards the car, and the sound of a Tazer can be heard.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said he wanted answers as well, having viewed the video footage taken by witnesses and posted on social media.
“I am aware of the very serious concerns the public has,” Blair told CTV News. “I know that people are seeking answers as to what occurred, why it happened and if anything could have been done to prevent the tragic death of this young man. I am also seeking answers to these important questions.”
Slain Seattle woodcarver John T. Williams
It was sadly reminicent of the shooting of Native woodcarver John T. Williams in Seattle in 2011. Walking across the street, he was holding a knife, but not near any people. Police told him to drop it, but the hard-of-hearing 50-year-old did not respond. A police officer opened fire.
Be it an 18-year-old Yatim, a 17-year-old Trayvon Martin or a host of others judged on the slightest perceived aberration and issued the death penalty, it was yet another example of how vulnerable the non-white population can be.
Blair said the provincial Special Investigations Unit would conduct a full, objective evaluation, and offered condolences.
“As a father, I can only imagine their terrible grief and their need for answers,” he said of the family.
Fire rages the day after a 73-car train carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale of North Dakota to refineries in New Brunswick, Canada, burn after the train got loose and smashed into the town of Lac-Mégantic, killing 47.
As hundreds attended a memorial service in Lac-Megantic on Saturday July 27 for the 47 people killed in the train explosion that flattened the center of the 6,000-population town, the horrific accident resonated with a tribe all the way over in the Pacific Northwest.
The Quinault Nation is fighting a plan to transport oil by rail through their territory and across ecologically sensitive areas. Indeed, the July 6 accident in Quebec, in which the brakes failed on a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway train and it sped downhill from its overnight resting place to derail and slam into the center of the small town, highlighted a drastic increase in rail transport of oil across the U.S. and Canada.
“It could have easily been Hoquiam,” said Fawn Sharp, President of Quinault Indian Nation, in a statement soon after the crash.
About 234,000 carloads of crude oil were moved around the U.S. in 2012, up from 66,000 carloads in 2011 and 9,500 in 2008, USA Today reported. That makes for a more than 2,000 percent increase over four years, the Quinault Nation pointed out in its July 9 statement.
“It is not a matter of ‘if’ these shipments will cause a major spill; it’s a matter of ‘when’,” said Sharp.
The Quinault are battling plans by the Westway Terminal Company out of Louisiana and Texas to build an oil shipping terminal in Grays Harbor with the capacity to store 800,000 barrels of crude. The company expects to transport 10 million barrels of crude through the ecologically sensitive harbor every year, the Quinault said in their statement.
In addition two other facilities to receive crude oil via rail shipments also being proposed in the Grays Harbor area, which includes marine shipping, would create “major environmental risks” to the community and the Quinault.
“The massive train, oil barge and ship traffic this project will bring to Grays Harbor is a tragedy waiting to happen,” Sharp said. “There will be spills and they will harm salmon, shellfish, and aquatic life, trample our treaty rights and cultural historic sites, and tie up traffic for extensive distances.”
Moreover the expansion of the Westway Terminals’ Port of Grays Harbor facility violates treaty rights as well as the tribe’s standards of “good stewardship and common sense,” Sharp said. “The risk is not worth a few more, unsustainable jobs. Far too much is at stake, and there is simply no way oil train proponents can pass the straight face test and tell us that their proposal is safe. Lives are at stake. Fish and wildlife resources. Water quality and much, much more. These are the same type of rail cars that will come pouring through our area, and unquestionably threaten the lives and safety of our people and resources.”
Back in Quebec, the tragedy hit home anew. Nearly 1,000 people crowded into Ste-Agnes Church for the morning Mass presided over by Archbishop Luc Cyr of Sherbrooke, the Associated Press reported. Also attending were Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois and Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche, as well as the Crown representative, Governor-General David Johnston. Maine Governor Paul LePage also attended.
“This has been an emotional day followed by a very emotional period,” Harper said outside the church, according to AP. “It is very difficult to absorb all this when you see all of these families who have been affected.”
Several lawsuits have been filed as a result of the explosion, and both the police and federal transportation safety officials conduct investigations, AP reported.
Forrest Gerard Senator Henry Jackson and Forrest Gerard 1976
Source: Indian Country Today Media Network
On July 24, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, recognized the significant contributions of Forrest Gerard to Indian country in a floor statement to the U.S. Senate. Mr. Gerard joined the staff of Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-WA) in 1971. He was appointed the first Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Gerard, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe, was one of the primary architects of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Act by Senator Jackson in 1973. The Act, which passed Congress in 1974 and was signed by President Gerald Ford in 1975, reversed a policy of termination and assimilation, and launched the era of self-governance and self-determination, which continues to guide federal Indian policy today.
In her statement, Senator Cantwell applauded Gerard for his commitment to tribal sovereignty. “Today we recognize Forrest Gerard for his dedication, intelligence, and persistence, which paved the way for the political achievements that transformed the landscape of Indian affairs,” Cantwell said. “Tribes now have greater autonomy in managing their resources, preserving their cultures, and utilizing their land base.”
Cantwell emphasized Gerard’s role in strengthening the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Indian tribes. Gerard helped promote a shared goal of tribal self-determination and self-governance. Today, Cantwell said, that relationship is a mature one.
“I think we are long overdue in commending Forrest for his pioneering, industrious career as a voice for Indian country,” Cantwell said. “Today we celebrate his leadership in charting a new path for American Indians – a path that won the support of Congress, tribal governments, and the nation.”
Gerard’s service began with the U.S. Army Air Corps as a member of a bomber crew in World War II. After flying 35 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, he became the first member of his family to attend college, receiving a bachelor’s degree from University of Montana in 1949.
Over the next two decades, Gerard worked for the state of Montana, the newly formed Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a legislative liaison officer, and the Director of the Office for Indian Progress in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Forrest spent the last 30 years advising Indian people on how to effectively participate in developing policy with government leaders and how to be part of the political process.
The full text of Senator Cantwell’s floor statement follows:
Mr. President, on the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act in 1973, I rise to honor a distinguished advocate for Indian country and one of the key architects of the Act, Forrest J. Gerard, and recognize him for a lifetime committed to public service.
Forrest, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe, was the first American Indian to draft and facilitate the passage of Indian legislation through Congress. During the 1970s, Forrest partnered with Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson to dramatically change the United States’ policy on Indian affairs. Together, they ended the policy of termination and assimilation, and launched the era of self-governance and self-determination, which continues to guide federal Indian policy today.
Forrest’s service began with the U.S. Army Air Corps as a member of a bomber crew in World War II. After flying 35 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, he became the first member of his family to attend college, receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana in 1949.
Over the next two decades, Forrest worked for the state of Montana, the newly formed Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a legislative liaison officer, and as the Director of the Office for Indian Progress in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. His goal was to enable future generations of Indian leaders to build healthy and educated communities.
Forrest arrived at the United States Senate in 1971 to work with Senator Jackson, then Chair of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Senator Jackson had become a strong supporter of self-determination, and believed Forrest Gerard, with his significant background with federal agencies and his understanding of the American Indian experience, would bring an important perspective to the debate. Forrest was able to combine significant issue expertise with his solid relationships with tribes to enact meaningful legislation that would alter the course of Indian affairs.
Forrest’s unique skills and relationships played a critical role in producing the landmark Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. With the leadership of Senator Jackson and Forrest Gerard, this critical bill was signed by President Ford in 1975 and remains the basis for federal dealings with tribal governments.
Following the success of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Forrest worked to strengthen tribal governance by helping to pass the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and the Submarginal Lands Act.
As Native American journalist Mark Trahant put it, “Gerard did great work – subtly, without fanfare, and too often without recognition or even thanks. His approach was honesty and directness in dealing with Indian country, and he never wavered in his loyalty to the tribes.”
Today we recognize Forrest Gerard for his dedication, intelligence, and persistence, which paved the way for the political achievements that transformed the landscape of Indian affairs. Tribes now have greater autonomy in managing their resources, preserving their cultures, and utilizing their land base. And the government-to-government relationship between the United States and tribes is now a mature relationship.
Forrest Gerard was honored for his work by the National Congress of American Indians. In 1997 President Jimmy Carter appointed him to be the first Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Forrest spent the last 30 years advising Indian people on how to effectively participate in developing policy with government leaders and be part of the political process. Forrest truly has devoted his life to empowering tribal communities.
I think we are long overdue in commending Forrest for his pioneering, industrious career as a voice for Indian country. Today we celebrate his leadership in charting a new path for American Indians – a path that won the support of Congress, tribal governments, and the nation.
Forrest Gerard is a hero among a new generation of great Indian leaders. And his contributions will be remembered forever.
A Senate Committee on Indian Affairs press release.
NESPELEM, Wash. — Fire has destroyed the administration building for the Colville Indian reservation in Nespelem (nez-PEE’-luhm).
The chairman of the governing business council, Mike Finley, says the three-story building is a total loss.
Finley says there were no known injuries. No one was believed to be in the building when the fire broke out about 1 a.m. Monday, and there’s no indication how it started. It’s not related to a wildfire.
The building housed the business council and support staff for the Confederated Tribes Of The Colville Reservation. Nespelem is about five miles north of Grand Coulee Dam.
Finley says Colville tribal records were lost and services will be affected. The confederation has 12 tribes with 9,470 members and a 1.4 million reservation in northeast Washington.
The Cherokee Nation has sent its elite squad of firefighters to Oregon to help fight wildfires in northern California.
The dozen-member team, the Cherokee Fire Dancers, deployed to the Northwestern state on Tuesday July 23 to “work 16-hour days, hiking up to seven miles per day to cut down timber to create fire breaks to help battle the flames,” the tribe said in a statement.
“It’s a thrill watching a fire as it’s contained and know you’ve helped,” said Danny Maritt, of Tahlequah, who has been a Fire Dancer for 23 years, in the tribe’s statement. “We’re glad we’re out there making a difference.”
Fire Dancers are on call from the U.S. Forestry Department, the tribe said. Their last mission was assisting in cleanup efforts from Superstorm Sandy in New Jersey.
The Fire Dancers have traveled back and forth across the United States since 1988 to help suppress wildfires, earning “an outstanding reputation and the respect of wildland management agencies throughout the United States,” the tribe’s website says.
Information on specific fires that the Cherokee team will help with was not available, but there were several fires burning in northern California earlier in the week. Many have been contained, but others, such as the Aspen fire, were still being suppressed. That was at 2,000 acres in hard-to-access territory in the High Sierra Ranger District of the Sierra National Forest, where it was discovered burning on July 23, according to Inciweb. As of late morning on July 25, the fire had burned about 2,000 acres and remained active.
Kirk Boxleitner Tulalip Tribal Police Officer Larry Groom meets with the kids of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club one last time, one day before stepping down from the force on July 26.
Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe
TULALIP — For two years after his ailing health forced him to retire from his full-time duties as the School Resource Officer for the Tulalip Tribal Police Department and the Marysville School District, Larry Groom was still able to put in part-time hours in his former position, but on Friday, July 26, he left the job for good due to his worsening condition.
“The very next week after I’d retired, Jay asked me if I’d come back on a part-time basis,” Groom said of Jay Goss, who was the chief of the Tulalip Tribal Police Department at the time. “After the first month, I went from five to four days a week. A while after that, I was working three days a week, then eventually two, and for the last several months, I’ve only been able to work two half-days each week. It’s just gotten harder and harder.”
Groom was diagnosed three years ago with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease,” but he found the strength to keep going from his desire to continue his nearly 40-year career in law enforcement, as well as his love of the many children he’s befriended in his role. And for a while after his retirement, the deterioration of his health leveled off, but his latest six-month medical checkup confirmed that his illness had grown more severe recently.
“When I was originally diagnosed, one lung was already gone and the other was only functioning at 36 percent,” Groom said. “I’ve had aches and pains throughout, but I’ve lost even more of my remaining lung function lately. I have a machine at night that works like the reverse of a sleep apnea machine, to help pull the air out of my lungs so that they can open up and inhale more air. When I’m not on the job, I walk with a cane or a walker, or I get around on a scooter, which helps with my back and legs, since they’re getting weaker.”
Still, Groom is able to look back fondly on a law enforcement career that’s included stints as the chief of police of two cities, as well as working with federal investigations, customs and the DEA. None of that, however, is what he’ll miss the most after he turns in his uniform and equipment.
“What I’ll miss the most is the kids,” said Groom, who’s mentored countless children over the decades, many of them now adults with children of their own. “The Tulalip Indian Reservation has become my home. They’ve accepted me very well, in spite of my being an ugly old white guy,” he laughed.
Tulalip Tribal member Patrick Reeves was still a teenager when he first met Groom seven years ago.
“He came up to me and asked me to join the Police Explorers, and we’ve kept in touch ever since,” said Reeves, who now has a daughter and works in maintenance for the Tulalip Tribes. “That academy was hard, but Larry kept me in. He was always there for me. If I was having hard times, he’d stop by or bring me lunch. He’s just a really good guy. No matter what you’re going through, he’ll be there to help you any way he can.”
“I just want to thank this community for trusting me with their children,” said Groom, who still hopes to continue serving as the Tulalip Tribal Police Department’s chaplain. “And I want to thank the Marysville School District for allowing me to work with them as their School Resource Officer.”
The electricity delivery from the Navajo Generating Station will continue well into the future – while achieving significant air pollution reductions.
That was the announcement made this morning by the Department of the Interior, which said it is part of an agreement that was reached to continue the services of NGS.
That agreement was signed by the Department of the Interior, Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Navajo Nation, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Project, Environmental Defense Fund, and Western Resources Advocates.
With the agreement came a proposed “Reasonable Progress Alternative to BART,” that was submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency today for consideration in developing the final Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) rule for NGS.
“This consensus agreement among a very diverse group of interested parties is nothing short of historic,” said Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Anne Castle in a DOI press release. “Through collaboration and cooperation, this innovative proposal will not only significantly reduce harmful emissions, it will also mitigate the plant’s carbon footprint and ensure continued generation of electricity that helps power the local economy.”
NGS, while being the largest coal-fired power plant in the West, is also the single sources of nitrogen oxide air pollution in the country, contributing to ozone and fine particle pollution in the region – home to the Grand Canyon and 10 other national parks and wilderness areas according to the release. Another significance for the NGS is that it provides more than “90 percent of the power for the Central Arizona Project (CAP), the state’s primary water delivery system, and plays a critical role in numerous tribal economies.”
The EPA in February issued a proposed BART rule for NGS to meet Clean Air Act legal mandates, recognizing the important role NGS plays on the regional economy, the EPA invited alternative proposals. According to the release, a Technical Working Group that consists of NGS owners, the DOI, affected tribes and other interested parties came together and submitted a supplemental proposal. “The group worked to address the concerns of many diverse interests in the plant and to provide the best path forward for all parties, in a manner that reflects current and future economic and environmental considerations,” the DOI release states.
Emissions of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide will be significantly reduced under the agreement, while maintaining essential operations at NGS into the future.
Key items within the agreement are:
–An 11.3 million metric tons, or 3 percent annually, carbon dioxide emissions reduction no later than December 31
— 80 percent clean energy by 2035 for the U.S. share in NGS
— $5 million Local Benefit Fund for community improvement projects within 100 miles of NGS or the Kayenta Mine, which supplies coal to NGS.
— Development of a 33-megawatt solar energy facility for the Gila River Indian Community
— DOI will provide copy00 million over 10 years, beginning in 2020, to provide financial assistance to tribes in Arizona that rely on water from the Central Arizona Project.
The release states “[t]he agreement reached today will further the objectives set forth in the Joint Statement to find ways to produce ‘clean, affordable and reliable power, affordable and sustainable water supplies, and sustainable economic development, while minimizing negative impacts on those who currently obtain significant benefits from NGS, including tribal nations.’”
Some of the traditional Native cedar canoes participating in the 2013 Paddle to Quinault can be tracked online at www.tinyurl.com/K77zryw.
The site, which is updated every 10 minutes, features the progress of canoes from the Heiltsuk and T’Sou-Ke First Nations of Canada; and the Grand Ronde, Lower Elwha, Muckleshoot, Squaxin Island, Swinomish and Warm Springs.
Approximately 100 canoes are expected to arrive at Quinault for traditional welcoming ceremonies on Aug. 1, according to Quinault Nation President Fawn Sharp. Among the participants are canoes from Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and the Suquamish Tribe.
“It has been 24 years since [the] Paddle to Seattle first revitalized this long-held Northwest tribal tradition, and the event has gained momentum throughout the Northwest ever since,” Sharp said in a press release.
“The cedar canoe holds great meaning for tribes throughout the Northwest and western Canada,” she said. “The annual Journey reaches deep into the hearts and souls of our people — both young and old, and helps them fully realize the vitality and spiritual strength of their tribal identity, underscoring our hope for a sustainable and positive future.”
This year’s Journey is expected to draw an estimated 15,000 tribal and non-tribal visitors to the land of the Quinault. The destination is Point Grenville, a Quinault beach near Taholah, approximately 40 miles north of Ocean Shores. Canoes will be escorted by the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain, recognizing the 225th anniversary of first contact between the Quinault people and the new United States of America.
Dignitaries expected to attend: Sen. Maria Cantwell, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; and Maia Bellon, Mescalero Apache, the director of Washington state’s Department of Ecology. Also in attendance will be tribal and state officials and hereditary chiefs.
“All visitors are welcome, as is our tribal custom,” said Guy Capoeman, Paddle to Quinault coordinator. “The Canoe Journeys have always provided a great opportunity for tribes to get together, share our thoughts, stories, traditional dance and song, and strengthen our bonds of friendship. They are a great means to teach our children about their roots, history and traditional ways. They also provide a good opportunity for non-tribal people to get to know more about us, and strengthen relations between Indian and non-Indian communities.”
This year’s Journey is significant in that it is being hosted by the home nation of Emmett Oliver, who organized the Paddle to Seattle in 1989 as part of the state’s Centennial Celebration, ushering in the modern Canoe Journey.
“The contemporary Canoe Journeys began in 1989,” Capoeman said. “Emmett Oliver, a Quinault tribal elder, organized the Paddle to Seattle as a part of [the] Washington State Centennial ceremony, revitalizing the canoe tradition, which had been lost for many years. We now know this as the Canoe Journey. The Canoe Journey has become [a] symbol of cultural revitalization on a national and even international level. We can expect anywhere from 90 U.S. Tribes, Canadian First Nations, and even New Zealand to join the celebration. In the past, we have seen canoes from Alaska and even Hawaii join in on this event. It truly has become an amazing part of revitalized Northwest culture.”
Sharp, who is also president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and a regional vice president of the National Congress of American Indians, said the Canoe Journey creates opportunities for indigenous people members to re-learn, strengthen and reinforce their canoe traditions. Many cultural values are learned from pulling in a canoe.
“Among these are positive pride, cultural knowledge, respect, and a sense of both personal achievement and teamwork,” she said.
The waters off the Pacific Northwest are becoming more acidic, making life more difficult for the animals that live there, especially oysters and the approximately 3,200 people employed in the shellfish industry.
Researchers from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will set sail Monday (July 29) on a monthlong research cruise off the U.S. and Canadian West Coast to see how ocean acidification is affecting the chemistry of the ocean waters and the area’s sea life.
Ocean acidification occurs when greenhouse-gas emissions cause carbon dioxide to accumulate in the atmosphere and become dissolved in sea water, changing the water’s chemistry and making it more difficult for coral, shellfish and other animals to form hard shells. Carbon dioxide creates carbonic acid when dispersed in water. This can dissolve carbonate, the prime component in corals and oysters’ shells.
The world’s oceans are 30 percent more acidic than they were before the Industrial Revolution, scientists estimate.
This cruise follows up on a similar effort in 2007 that supplied “jaw-dropping” data on how much ocean acidification was hurting oysters, said Brad Warren, director of the Global Ocean Health Partnership, at a news conference today (July 25). (The partnership is an alliance of governments, private groups and international organizations.)
That expedition linked more acidic waters to huge declines in oyster hatcheries, where oysters are bred, Warren said. Oyster farms rely ona fresh stock of oysters each year to remain economically viable.
When the data came in from that cruise, it was “a huge wake-up call,” Warren said. “This was almost a mind-bending realization for people in the shellfish industry,” he said.
The new cruise will also look at how acidification is affecting tiny marine snails called pteropods, a huge source of food for many fish species, including salmon, said Nina Bednarsek, a biological oceanographer with NOAA’s Pacific Environmental Marine Laboratory.
The research will take place aboard the NOAA ship Fairweather, which will depart from Seattle before heading north and then looping back south. It will end up in San Diego on Aug. 29. During this time, scientists will collect samples to analyze water chemistry, calibrate existing buoys that continuously measure the ocean’s acidity and survey populations of animals, scientists said.
The researchers will also examine algae along the way. Ocean acidification is expected to worsen harmful algal blooms (like red tide), explosions of toxin-producing cells that can sicken and even kill people who eat oysters tainted with these chemicals, said Vera Trainer, a researcher at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center.
Revenues from gambling at Native American gaming centers across the nation hit a new record in 2012, bringing in nearly $28 billion dollars, a 2.7 percent increase over 2011.
The two fastest growing regions in the country were in Oklahoma. The Tulsa Region, which includes parts of Kansas and eastern Oklahoma, had the greatest revenue growth, increasing 6.6 percent.
The Oklahoma City Region, including Texas and the western parts of Oklahoma, were in second place with gambling revenue growing 5.8 percent in 2012 as compared to the year before.
The annual report from the National Indian Gaming Commission shows those two areas outpaced all others in the country in 2012. The Tulsa area showed gross gaming revenue of $1.9 billion. The Oklahoma City Region came in at $1.8 billion.
“In 2012, the Indian gaming industry saw its largest gross gaming revenues ever,” Tracie Stevens, chairwoman of the commission, said. “For those who judge casino spending as an indicator of increased discretionary spending and economic recovery, 2012 revenues certainly display economic encouragement.”
The Tulsa and Oklahoma City regions top the nation in the growth of Native American gambling revenues in 2012. Credit National Indian Gaming Commission
