“ When it comes to gaming land decisions , each of them has to stand on its own . They have to be examined on their own merits , and the law that applies to them .”
“ I don ’ t know from day to day what we can expect from this administration . I do have some areas of concern , and one is the NIGC .”
Tahsuda agrees , but thinks it might be hard to reverse .
“ In general , there are a lot of late decisions as an administration is winding down ,” he says . “ And when it comes to gaming land decisions , each of them really stands on its own . They have to be examined on their own merits , and the law that applies to them . I do think that , in the waning days of the last administration , they really were stretching the rules as applied even in prior Democratic administrations . But if the land already went into trust , then reversing those decisions becomes much more difficult .” Vargas says it ’ s really too late to challenge . “ These decisions are final and will stand in the Trump administration ,” he says . “ The Trump Department of Justice is already defending in federal court challenges to the Coquille tribe and Koi Nation record of decisions .”
On the other hand , President Trump showed support during his campaign for the bid of the Lumbee tribe of South Carolina for federal recognition , a process that can take — and has taken — decades . The president issued an executive order for Secretary Burgum to come up with a plan to give the Lumbees that recognition . Vargas believes the tribe has a good case . “ Each individual recognition case is unique , but the executive order for the North Carolina Lumbee tribe does indicate a friendly terrain for examining recognition petitions ,” he says .
As for other tribes seeking recognition , Tahsuda doesn ’ t believe the Lumbee decision would affect their bids .
“ There ’ s a relatively small group that has gone through the process over the years ,” he says . “ But where those decisions were made , they were very close . And recently there were changes in the regulations , so there ’ s no way for them to get reconsidered under the new , somewhat looser rules .
“ It was actually the intent of Congress and of the department when the regulations for recognition were established , that when you had a close call , the agency could say maybe Congress should make this decision . So right now , probably the easiest thing is legislation . But if the president supports it , then that would be great .”
Engaging Energy
With the “ drill , baby , drill ” philosophy of the Trump team , tribes that have been handcuffed by environmental regulations in their attempts to access energy on reservation lands should be happy , says Vargas .
“ There are a large number of energy-producing tribes that will welcome federal support to remove and streamline leasing barriers .” McKeag agrees . “ One of the priorities of the Trump administration is energy , and he ’ s trying to move away from clean energy ,” she explains . “ This isn ’ t a gaming-related issue , but it ’ s been more difficult for tribes to dig and market their natural resources , particularly if there happens to be an energy company in a facility close to a reservation . There have been so many obstacles . That would be beneficial to a lot of them , because many of them happen to be the less for-
“ When it comes to gaming land decisions , each of them has to stand on its own . They have to be examined on their own merits , and the law that applies to them .”
— John Tahsuda , principal with Navigators Global , an advisory firm in the nation ’ s capital , and former principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Indian Affairs
“ I don ’ t know from day to day what we can expect from this administration . I do have some areas of concern , and one is the NIGC .”
— Jana McKeag , president of Lowry Strategies , and one of the original members of the National Indian Gaming Commission ( NIGC ) tunate tribes in remote locations .” Tahsuda believes that the energy-related tribes will welcome the new administration .
“ The focus on energy is great ,” he says . “ That ’ s something that we did in the first Trump administration . It seems pretty clear that would be a huge benefit to Indian Country . Those tribes that have energy resources were really just put on the sidelines for the last four years . So I think helping them out will help a lot of tribes , and tribes that don ’ t have gaming really depend on those resources .
Cause for Concern ?
While the Trump administration has ramped up very quickly in many areas , it ’ s still somewhat unclear how the second Trump term will impact tribes . McKeag is taking a wait-and-see approach . “ I think it ’ s going to be a mixed bag ,” she says . “ But we still have powerful tribal advocates on the Hill , people like Senator Tom Cole and Congressman Ken Calvert . So I think we ’ ll be all right . Tahsuda reflects on his time with Interior in the first term . “ In the first administration I thought we were received very well ,” he says . “ When you also consider the White House Intergovernmental Office , they actually welcomed the tribes coming directly to them .”
Vargas doesn ’ t see any reason to worry , but believes there is a lot of hard work ahead .
“ Given the federal government ’ s long history of mistreatment of tribal nations over decades , tribal nations are wise to build strong relationships with every new administration ,” he recommends .
“ The best opportunities for tribes will be to link and maximize their goals of economic development , improved health care and energy development with the goals of the Trump administration . Additionally , the Coalition of Large Tribes enthusiastically supported both Secretary Burgum and Secretary Kennedy ’ s confirmations , indicating a new level of enthusiasm with this new administration .”
12 TRIBAL GOVERNMENT GAMING 2025