U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin gave the kick-off address at the two-day National Indian Gaming Association’s 2018 Winter Legislative Summit in Washington D.C. last week.
NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens welcomed the tribal leaders, warning, “With the political climate that Indian country currently faces, we must always be ready to deal with our issues head-on, and that means educating, talking, meeting and holding our ground in protecting tribal sovereignty.”
Topics the tribal leaders were most interested in included sports betting, the proposed changes to the Fee to Trust process by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) Technical Standards Final Rule.
Many were unhappy about the fact that the recently passed Tax Act of 2018 didn’t address Indian tax issues. But there was some optimism about addressing this issue later this year.
