Andrea Joy Campbell: “Mr. President, certainly there are Members of this Chamber who are downright against gaming. I understand that. As…”

“Mr. President, certainly there are Members of this Chamber who are downright against gaming. I understand that. As Senator Inouye mentioned, even his State has no gaming. But I do not believe that is what this debate is about. For me, very frankly, it is about whether we keep our word or we do not keep our word. The Senator mentioned that literally for every treaty ever signed by the Federal Government, Indian tribes ended up losing by virtue of the Government breaking the treaty. No one speaks more eloquently than Senator Inouye about the destructive forces that have been heaped upon American Indians at the hands of the U.S. Government. I think he does it very eloquently because of his own background. He is a man of great bravery, who just received America's highest award. He is a Medal of Honor recipient. Yet he fought in a war during which his own people were interned in camps at the hands of the Federal Government. Certainly, Senator Inouye is held in the highest esteem throughout Indian country, as he is in this body. But I think many of our colleagues ought to study the old treaties, even though most of them were broken--not all--by the Federal Government. Indian people have a very special relationship with the Federal Government. It would do us well if we read some of the old promises we made and didn't keep.”