PACE is privileged to represent a number of tribal governments throughout the United States. There is a constant need to educate Members of Congress about the complexities of tribal governmental issues – all of which stem from a core understanding of tribal sovereignty. PACE assists tribal officials in providing this education to Congress.
New challenges for tribes continue to evolve as tribal governments work to provide basic services for their members. New, innovative programs being developed by tribes, frequently in cooperation with a myriad of federal government agencies, bring great opportunities in areas such as housing, energy and business development. PACE assists tribal leaders in reaching out to those governmental entities with jurisdiction over these programs to find solutions to reservation-based challenges and create opportunities for tribes.
At the same time, tribal governments continue to strive to provide their members with the best programs possible in areas such as health care delivery, housing, elder care, early childhood education, and infrastructure development. Many of our tribal clients are actively developing their own court systems to administer tribal justice programs – oftentimes in conjunction with the Department of Justice. We work with our tribal clients to help them reach these goals.
After tribes secured a victory before the Supreme Court in the landmark decision of California vs. Cabazon/Morongo in 1987, affirming the rights of tribes to regulate activities which occur on Indian lands, Congress enacted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Over the past 25 years, tribes have effectively worked to regulate gaming activities on their reservation lands. Throughout much of this time, we have supported those efforts with our work in Congress, before the Bureau of Indian Affairs and with the National Indian Gaming Commission.
Despite significant progress, great challenges remain for all tribal governments. The government-to-government relationship between tribes and the federal government is a constantly evolving dynamic, and PACE works hard to ensure that the lines of communication between these two entities stay open, and by extension, the programs our tribal clients provide to their members remain exceptional.