California
California Indian tribes have established a new association, the California Association of Tribal Governments (CATG), a nonprofit consortium of federally recognized Indian tribal governments that is chartered to “promote mutual cooperation” and “represent their common interests with federal, state and local governments.” According to the CATG, its first initiative will be to protect the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund (RSTF) and to ensure that RSTF funds continue to be distributed to California’s non-gaming tribes, as required by Proposition 1A (State Constitutional Amendment SCA10) and the tribal-state gaming compacts reached in 1999.
With its mission statement to “Promote an understanding of sovereignty, self-determination and the economic needs of tribal governments, in a manner that is consistent with our common bonds of culture, history, trade and association among all California tribes, and to amplify the voices of all California tribal governments so we can be heard by federal, state and local governments,“ senior officials from several tribes have already voiced their support for the CATG.
“Many California Indian tribal governments, particularly non-gaming tribes, have limited resources, impeding their ability to adequately address their needs...,” said Matt Franklin, chairman of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians. “The success of Indian gaming has diverted attention away from the issues of mutual concern many tribes face. ”
“The association will help make the case for legislative and policy changes that are needed to overcome the inequities and disadvantages tribal governments face that diminish opportunities for non-gaming economic development,” said Robert Pinto Sr., chairman of the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians.
The first official meeting of the CATG is scheduled for Sept. 9 in Sacramento, where the association’s board of directors will be elected and officers selected.
In a first-of-its-kind study, J.D. Power and Associates has conducted a Southern California Indian Gaming Casino Satisfaction Study (SCIGC) for 2008. Exploring casino players’ entire gaming experience, from arrival at the casino to cashing out their chips, the inaugural study provides a single measure to assess the levels of overall player satisfaction among casinos located throughout Southern California. Casinos included in the study have a minimum of 2,000 slot machines, and the study is based on 1,766 responses from gaming players who visited an Indian casino in Southern California between December 2007 and June 2008. The study was fielded in May and June 2008.
Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino ranked highest in customer satisfaction using data from more than 100 questions about guests’ experiences with arrival and parking, the facility, beverage service, gaming, ticket redemption and overall satisfaction. “The guest experience is one of the most important aspects of our success,” said Rick Salinas, Barona’s general manager. “We are constantly working to improve every aspect of a guest’s visit here. It’s an honor for our staff to be recognized and validated for their hard work by not only our guests, but now by such an esteemed organization as J.D. Power and Associates.”