The Richardson Solution

Richardson would have a Secretary of Native American Affairs

From the Indian Country:

If I'm elected president, I would propose to make the cabinet secretary of Indian Affairs the Secretary of Indian Affairs; I would make it cabinet level. I would try, because I believe within the Department of the Interior it does not get the attention it deserves. I would have a cabinet department for Native American affairs. [...]

In terms of being governor, we have said that we recognize all tribes as equals, self-determination and government-to-government. And a Pueblo governor is equal to the governor of New Mexico. They're citizens of New Mexico. I just feel very strongly about it and I'm going to continue doing that if I'm elected president.

The whole article is well worth the read - it talks a ton about the Governor's history with Natives in New Mexico and his breaking of tradition by having a Pueblo Governor swear him in for his second-term.  This is a huge policy difference that Richardson has immense credibility on.  The sad part about this is that it's taken until the 21st century to get this going.  But thankfully we have Richardson building the policy foundation for it to happen in 2008.

New Mexico-Native Revenue Sharing Agreement

Working with people, instead of against them:

Gov. Bill Richardson and all but two of New Mexico's 13 gaming tribes have reached an agreement that would allow more state oversight and a higher revenue-sharing rate in exchange for a longer gaming compact.

The proposed changes now head to the Legislature for approval. They would also need to be approved by the secretary of the Interior Department.

''The proposed compact amendments are not an extensive overhauling of the 2001 gaming compact,'' Richardson said in a letter to lawmakers. ''Rather, they make discrete and specific changes to the compact.''

The current compact was signed in 2001 and requires the tribes to pay the state no more than 8 percent of their casino profits. That revenue sharing amounts to more than $40 million a year.

Under the agreement, the compact would be extended to 2045 and the revenue-sharing rate that the tribes would pay to the state would increase to 9.25 percent and gradually rise to 10.75 percent, depending on each tribe's annual net return.

The higher rate is expected to bring an additional $10 million per year to the state between now and the end of the current compact.

The agreement also calls for tribal governments to be limited to two casinos per reservation with the exception of Laguna, which already has three.

Tesuque Pueblo Gov. Charlie Dorame, chairman of the New Mexico Indian Gaming Association, said the cap put on tribal casinos will affect the revenue coming in and that tribes will have to be more innovative in building their economies...

The tribes reaching agreement with the state include Acoma, Isleta, Laguna, Ohkay Owingeh, Sandia, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Taos and Tesuque as well as the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Pojoaque Pueblo and the Mescalero Apaches have not agreed to the proposed changes.

BRS:  We'll see how much headway this agreement makes, but it probably has a good chance of working it's way into law. Unlike other states where Natives and revenue collectors are constantly at odds (and Natives are subject to demonization by media AKA California) it's nice to see New Mexico working an agreement out before it becomes too big of an issue.