In the closing days of the Fall 2004 elections, Governor Schwarzenegger found himself at the center of a storm swirling around suggestions he was a racist. It was a quote in a Reuter’s wire service story October 16, 2004 attributed to Big Lagoon tribal chairman Virgil Moorhead that got the ball rolling.Campaigning against several ballot measures that would have allowed widespread expansion of Indian gaming in California, Schwarzenegger suggested Native American gaming tribes were “Ripping us off!”
The first wire story written by Adam Tanner for Reuter’s on October 15/16 featured Big Lagoon tribal chairman Virgil Moorhead, who was the first Native American to suggest that Schwarzenegger’s comments bordered on racist. That’s when the situation erupted. Moorhead’s allegations spread like wild fire and before you knew it, the story was big national news. Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura was weighing in to condemn Schwarzenegger from halfway across the country.
Ten months after Virgil Moorhead set off a media frenzy when he questioned whether Governor Schwarzenegger harbored racial tendency toward Native Americans, the Governor signed a gaming agreement with Moorhead allowing Moorhead's tribe, Big Lagoon Rancheria from Humboldt County, to relocate its proposed Las Vegas style casino 700 miles away from its ancestral reservation to the Mohave Desert community of Barstow.
Since obtaining the Governor's support, Moorhead has failed to generate support for his agreement from more than six members out of 120 in the combined houses of the state legislature. A powerful Assembly committee rejected Moorhead's agreement with the Governor in June 2006; the agreement must be ratified by both the Assembly and Senate to be considered a valid agreement.
Sampling of coverage from 10/15-10/30, 2004:
Agua Caliente shocked over governor’s jab at Section 14 (Desert Sun 10/29)
Former Minnesota Gov. Ventura rips Schwarzenegger over gambling ... (North County Times 10/27)
Schwarzenegger still says “ripping us off” (Indianz.com 10/25)
Schwarzenegger opposes gaming initiatives amid renewed charges of racism (Indian Country Today 10/22)
Local tribe levels racism charges against governor (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 10/20)
Governor's remark draws ire (The Sacramento Bee 10/20)
Tribes want governor's apology (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 10/20)
CNIGA Demands Apology From Governor For Inflammatory Remark (Press Release 10/19)
Tribes bristle at Schwarzenegger's campaign rhetoric (Copley News Service 10/19)
Schwarzenegger pushes gaming initiatives' defeat (SD Union Tribune 10/15)
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