[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 42 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]
[Pages 2070-2071]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Receiving the Endorsement of Native American Tribal Leaders 
and an Exchange With Reporters in Albuquerque

October 15, 1996

    The President. Thank you very, very much. Thank you, Congressman 
Richardson, for what you've said about the record that we have worked 
hard to make in partnership with the Native Americans. Thank you, Mayor 
Chavez, for being here. I want to thank the Native American leaders who 
have come here today to offer their support. And I thank President Hale 
and Governor Garcia for the words that they have given.
    Let me say that there are many wonderful things about having the 
great honor of being President of the United States. But being able to 
be President of a country that includes the Native American tribes, to 
have the opportunity to work with them in a spirit of genuine respect, 
to work to improve the recognition of the integrity of their religious 
practices, to work to try to increase the level of independence and 
reduce the level of patronizing practices in the relationship of the 
Native American tribes to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, all these things 
are very, very important to me.
    As the 42d President, I was honored to be the first President since 
our fifth President, James Monroe, in the 1820's, to invite the leaders 
of every tribe in the United States to meet with me at the White House. 
We have worked hard to expand tribal sovereignty and self-determination. 
We have worked hard to make sure every Federal agency knows that it 
should consult with tribal governments at any time we're making 
decisions that affect American Indians and Alaskan natives.
    By working together, we have moved forward. We have kept some bad 
things from happening, but we have also made some good things happen. We 
have a lot more to do. But we can be proud of what has been done in 
protecting self-determination, in preserving natural resources, in 
providing educational and economic opportunity, in defending tribal 
rights to protect children, families, and culture.
    America is going in the right direction in no small measure because 
every American and every American family and every American ethnic, 
racial, and religious group knows that in our America, they are all 
entitled to be treated with dignity and equality. But I am especially 
grateful for the Indian nations for standing with us as we have fought 
to preserve our common values, as we have worked to balance the budget 
without crippling our investments in people and our obligations to one 
another.
    Now we have to continue the progress and build upon it. The 
endorsement of the leaders here and the work we will do together will be 
critical to keep our country moving into the right direction as we move 
into the 21st century. I value their friendship. I value their 
partnership, and I look forward to working with them.
    Thank you all very, very much.

[[Page 2071]]

Gambling on Indian Reservations

    Q. Mr. President--[inaudible]--meeting, and can your administration 
do anything, any more to resolve the current logjam?
    The President. No. There are some Indian gaming issues around the 
country that we still have the capacity to resolve. But the ones here 
are in the courts. And there's really nothing more for us to do except 
to let them work their way through the courts.
    Q. Mr. President, the so-called dean of Native American leaders is 
not here today, Mescalero Apache President Wendell Chino. And he wants 
you to fire U.S. Attorney John Kelly, the man who shut down his casino 
and so do, frankly, some people on the stage with you today. Is that 
going to happen, sir?
    The President. This issue is in the courts now, and I have no 
further comment.

Campaign Contributions

    Q. Mr. President, do you seek, in fact, the disputed $450,000? 
Everyone in the administration said there's nothing illegal--but there's 
some ethical issues been raised. We haven't heard you say much about it.
    The President. Well I--first of all, I expect to have the 
opportunity to discuss that tomorrow night. But I believe that the 
political parties should not give back contributions that were legally 
made and legally received. And if they made a mistake and took any money 
that shouldn't have been taken, then they ought to give that back. I 
think that there are clear FEC rules on this. There's a law on this. 
That's what we've got a Federal Election Commission for. And we know 
they're capable of doing their job because they've taken action this 
year already.

Note: The President spoke at 2:40 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Pyramid Hotel. 
In his remarks, he referred to Albert Hale, President, Navajo Nation, 
and Leonard D. Garcia, Governor, Pueblo of Santa Ana, Southern Pueblos.