Minnesota Lawyer New Head of American Indian Gaming Commission Story-Date: 05:51 p.m. PST Sunday , August 10, 1997 Minnesota Lawyer New Head of American Indian Gaming Commission BY KAY HUMPHREY, INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, RAPID CITY, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News WASHINGTON, D.C.--Aug. 11--An American Indian lawyer from Minnesota has been named the new head of the National Indian Gaming Commission which regulates the $6 billion a year industry. Tadd Johnson, a member of the Bois Forte Chippewa tribe, is a former director of the House Subcommittee on Indian Affairs. Mr. Johnson, who is of Lino Lakes, Minn., is a partner in the Johnson, Hamilton, & Quigley law firm. His specialty is negotiating self-governance agreements for the management federal programs on reservations. Mr. Johnson received a B.A. from the College of St. Thomas in 1979 and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1985. He served as the interim Executive Director and Counsel of the Bois Forte Band in Minnesota in 1995. He was the Staff Director and Counsel for the House Sub-Committee on Native American Affairs during the same year. Mr. Johnson also served as Counsel on Indian Affairs for the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs from 1991 to 1993. During his tenure with the committee, Mr. Johnson was responsible for the oversight hearings held on American Indian gaming issues. The NIGC, which is under the Department of Interior, was created to regulate all affairs relevant to gaming on American Indian lands. The commission monitors gaming activities, levies fines, inspects all gaming sites located on American Indian lands, conducts background investigations and audits. The commission's chairman has the sole power to take enforcement actions for the agency. Mr. Johnson will oversee the day-to-day operation of the commission which regulates and classifies gaming activities on tribal lands. When tribes or the management of the gaming sites fail to comply with the regulations the commission can close down the gaming sites until they comply. The agency can levy fines for noncompliance. Ada Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department, was acting chairman of the agency for three months after its last full-time chairman, Harold Monteau, left the commission in January. Mr. Monteau left amid conflict of interest allegations. The agency's two commissioners, Tom Foley, a former county attorney from Minnesota, and Phil Hogen, a former U.S. attorney from South Dakota, claimed he was too cozy with the industry, and criticized his approval of a casino contract over their objections. Confirmation hearings for the post will are expected to be held when Congress reconvenes in September, said officials at the NIGC. ----- ON THE INTERNET: Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------