8 – INDIAN GAMING - ANNUAL REPORT 2025
VICE-CHAIRMAN’S REPORT DAVID Z BEAN Puyallup Tribe of Indians
Greetings from San Diego and thank you for attending this year’s Conference and Tradeshow. T o the IGA Membership, I am honored to be serving you as Vice-Chairman and our team has worked hard to represent all of Indian Country on behalf of the Association. With a new Administration in place, we have hit the New Year running to make sure our presence is felt across Congress and the federal agencies. The unprecedented dismissal of thousands of jobs in the Federal Government is impacting the services our Tribal Governments can provide. At the same time, Indian Country is still facing challenges at the Supreme Court and from illegal gaming companies eroding Tribal exclusivity in our state-tribal compacts. The Association begins 2025 in a strong position to defend our gaming industry, and we hope to channel previous generations of Indian warriors who fought on behalf of Tribal Governments to keep the dreams of their people alive for generations to come. During the turmoil that marks the beginning of this new era of Government, we have stressed to Congress and the new Federal Agency Directors that Tribal Sovereignty means Tribal Governments have jurisdiction over our lands and people without exception. For example, in the Northwest this includes Tribal jurisdiction over water,
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