comment leads to a storm of protest from Indian
leaders and activists, who castigate the president for
promoting negative Indian stereotypes. Ignoring
their complaints, Reagan refuses to apologize for
the statement. (See also entry for DECEMBER 12,
1988.)
October 17
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides
guidelines for Indian gambling.
In response to California v. Cabazon Band of Mis-
sion Indians (see entry for FEBRUARY 25, 1987), in
which the Supreme Court held that Indian gam-
ing could be regulated only by a congressional act,
Congress passes the Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act. The act acknowledges that Indian-run gam-
bling operations are a “means of promoting tribal
economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong
tribal government”—all primary goals of contem-
porary Indian policy.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act divides
games into three classes. In Class I are traditional
games, which are to be regulated solely by tribes.
Class II includes bingo and lotto games, which are
to be governed by the National Indian Gaming
Commission—a three-person board of which two
members must be Indians. Composing Class III
are all high-stakes, casino-style games. Tribes may
operate Class III games only if the games are not
prohibited by the state in which the Indian group
lives. The group must also negotiate with the state
a formal agreement that outlines rules for operating
any Class III game.
October 29
Indians buried in the Congressional
Cemetery are honored.
The “Celebration of Native American Life” draws
several hundred people to Washington, D.C., to
pay tribute to the Indians buried in the Congres-
sional Cemetery. Wilma Mankiller, the principal
chief of the Cherokee (see entry for DECEMBER 14,
1987), delivers the event’s keynote speech.
NovemberThe Mount Graham observatory is
approved for construction on a sacred
Apache site.
Congress agrees to allow the construction of the
Mount Graham International Observatory in the
Coronado National Forest in Arizona. The deci-
sion is criticized by many San Carlos Apache,
who regard the mountain as a sacred site. In
light of Indian opposition, the observatory’s
sponsors—which include the Vatican and the Ar-
cetri Astrophysical Observatory in Italy—decide
to abandon the name “The Columbus Project” for
the astronomical research center. With construc-
tion complete, the observatory will be formally
dedicated in 1993.December 12Reagan meets with Indian leaders.
President Ronald Reagan invites 16 Indian leaders
to Washington, D.C., hoping to ease the tension
created by a speech he delivered earlier in the year,
in which he belittled Indians’ “primitive lifestyle”
(see entry for MAY 30, 1988). The 20-minute
meeting marks the first time in recent history that
Indians have been in council with the president in
the White House.1989Tribes object to tourists at the
Medicine Wheel.
When the Forestry Service begins to promote the
Medicine Wheel at the Big Horn National Forest as
a tourist attraction, tribal elders on the Wind River
Reservation organize a multitribal campaign to
protect the site. The circle of large boulders has been
a sacred site for many Indian groups for hundreds,
if not thousands of years. In addition to insisting on
12 days of exclusive use of the Medicine Wheel for
seasonal ceremonies, the Indians demand protec-
tion for the natural habitat within a 2.5-mile radius