Senator Inouye, Tribal Leaders Attend Economic Conference

Tribe honors Senator Daniel K. Inouye at evening reception

By Shelley Marmor

HOLLYWOOD — Leaders from Indian nations including Seminole, Miccosukee and Choctaw, attended the Tribal Leaders Economic Forum on Transforming Tribal Economic Success into Long-Term Economic Safety conference at the Hard Rock. The two-day gathering took place March 21–22.

On the first day of the conference Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) also attended. Event emcee and Executive Director of the American Indian Resources Institute Richard Trudell told the crowd that they are lucky to have Inouye attend. Trudell explained that the senator can’t usually attend conferences since he is so busy with senatorial duties all year. The senate is however, currently in recess, making Inouye’s visit possible.

Inouye began his speech commending the Seminole Tribe, saying Seminoles have “a story of persistence… a story of success.” He also mentioned that the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington , D.C. is the most visited of all Smithsonian museums on the Mall.

Then the tone of his speech turned serious. Inouye said though many Tribes are enjoying gaming revenue from casinos he argued that it is not enough. Inouye said he estimates only about 10 percent of Tribes that own and operate casinos are actually profiting; some of the factors for this include previous debt and corrupt business practices from outside sources.

“Even with all these stories of success we still find in Indian Country the highest rate of suicide, the highest rate of dropout among our youth,” Inouye said. “We should not stop at the casinos and feel that we have succeeded.”

Though it is a tough undertaking to come up with a solution to a problem, such as the one Inouye says faces Indian Country, he did offer a starting off point. He suggested placing a heavy amount of emphasis on tomorrow’s leaders–the youth of today. Inouye suggested forming a committee or think tank of Indian youth that will solely discuss going beyond casinos for Tribal revenue.

“It’s a big challenge ahead of us,” he said. “I don’t know what’s ahead of us, but I’d rather try and fail than not try.”

Inouye, however, assured the Tribal leaders at the conference that “I’m ready to join; you just tell me when.” Trudell expressed confidence in Inouye’s commitment to Tribal economic development and said the senator has “always been there for us.”

Following his speech, the senator left quickly to get some rest before he had to attend a reception in his honor hosted by the Tribe. He said he toured various Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. business ventures and encouraged all conference attendees to do the same. The Tribe offered an optional tour to interested persons on March 23, the day after the conference.

The evening reception that took place in the Hard Rock ballroom was attended by the members of the Tribal Council and Board and Miccosukee Chairman Billy Cypress. Chairman Mitchell Cypress and President Moses B. Osceola presented Inouye with a Seminole jacket and Hollywood Council Representative Max B. Osceola Jr. and Hollywood Board Representative David DeHass presented him with a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino guitar. Miss Indian Nations Bobbi Rae Sage also sung a traditional song in the senator’s honor.

“I am deeply honored by your demonstrations of friendship,” Inouye said. “‘Aloha’ means ‘I love you all.’ To all of you, I love you.”

Himself a WWII veteran, Inouye also took the time to recognized Native American war veterans. Inouye said of all demographic groups in the U.S. at the time more Indians per capita “put on a uniform” in WWII than any other group.

“As long as I have breath in my life,” Inouye said. “I will stand with you.”