1 Native American Gambling in California

Ever since California became a state of the Union in the mid 19th century, the state has had its fair share of scuffles with the native tribes already there. California has always wanted strict control of tribal reservations and it's no surprise that they did as much as they could when they learned that native tribes were running gambling operations, something clearly illegal in the state. The state had its first legal battle with Indian casinos when the Cabazon and Morongo Indians offered card games at their casinos in the early 1980s. Because California did not allow gambling, the state threatened criminal action. This battle eventually made it to the United States Supreme Court in 1987, known as "California vs. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. " In this ruling the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that gambling could only occur on Indian casinos if it were already legal in the state for non-Indian purposes. Seeing it as a potential precedent setting ruling, the US Congress introduced the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IGRA). This act required all Indian tribes to register with their respective states before being allowed to conduct business in the gambling industry. Although it looked promising for the future of Native American sovereignty, Indians saw it as yet another undeliverable promise, but like before, they had no real choice, but to accept it. It turns out that this landmark piece of legislation is so big, that it has been dubbed to b