IGA HONORS DENISE HARVEY WITH JOHN KIEFFER SOVEREIGNTY AWARD
for Indian gaming. He was a great man who continued to fight hard for Indian country.” Kieffer concluded, “It is always hard to find where my dad left off. I continue to say that it is a dream for me to be able to follow in his passion for leadership. I have big shoes to fill, and I am grateful to IGA for keeping his memory alive through this honoring.” Upon accepting the award, Harvey said, “This is quite the honor. As tribal leaders, we all must adjust to wearing many hats, whether it be Indian gaming, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the Violence Against Women Act, housing, and so on. We all have a huge responsibility to serve our people, which I take very seriously because it is not only for our communities and the people, we serve but for all of our Indian people. I feel fortunate to have the honor of serving on the national level at the Indian Gaming Association. Denise Harvey was born in Castro Valley, Calif., in 1962 to Maxine (McKnight) Leno and Carl Nusbaum. She is the great-granddaughter of Mary Quenelle and William Langley and granddaughter of Thomas McKnight and Elvira (Langley) McKnight. She lived in the San Francisco Bay area from 1962 to 1976. In 1976, her mother decided to return to Oregon, and she attended high school in Salem. Soon after graduation, she moved to Southern California, where she lived and raised four sons – Benjamin, Ryan, Sean, and Jared. She also raised two stepchildren, Blair and Alex, with her husband, John Harvey. She worked in the Los Angeles County Emergency Department for 16 years as a health coordinator and attended Mount San Antonio College from 1999 to 2002. Her husband retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2001 and the family decided to relocate to Oregon. Harvey started working for the Tribe in 2002 in the Human Resources Department as the Mentorship and Workforce Development coordinator, a position she held until 2010. In 2004, she was appointed to the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission and, in 2005, was appointed as chair of the commission.
The Indian Gaming Association (IGA) honored Denise Harvey, Councilmember at the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde with the prestigious John Kieffer Sovereignty Award at the 2023 IGA Mid-Year Conference and Expo. Hosted at the Foxwood Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, CT, the John Kieffer Sovereignty Award was presented to Harvey during the Sovereignty Luncheon held each year during the IGA Mid-Year Conference. Named in honor of the late John Kieffer of the Spokane tribe, recipients of this prestigious award are chosen based on their embodiment of IGA’s mission and purpose. Kieffer was a dedicated member of the IGA Executive Committee and an advocate for Indian self-determination and tribal sovereignty. Chairman Stevens reflected on the late John Kieffer, “So many great things have happened in Indian country, but we still have a lot of work to do. There are so many tribes that need us. That’s why we need more people like the late John Kieffer. He was a worker who worked hard morning, noon, and night. He worked hard for his people his family, and he worked hard for Indian country. We memorialize him and celebrate the memory of his life.” Spokane Tribal Council Member Danny Kieffer, the son of John Kieffer, spoke about Kieffer’s life, determination, and service to Indian country. Danny Kieffer currently serves on the tribal council at the Spokane Tribe. He thanked IGA for honoring his father’s memory with the award, “It is a great honor for the Spokane tribe and my family. My dad loved being on the tribal council and fought hard
24 | INDIAN GAMING UPDATE - 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW
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