Section GMG.01.07 — General Provisions

(a) Authority and Sovereign Powers and Responsibilities. This Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the inherent sovereign powers of the Tribe and powers expressly delegated to the Tribal Council pursuant to the terms of the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Constitution.

(b) Application of Federal Policy. In 1970, President Nixon announced the policy of the United States Government to promote self-determination for Indian tribes. At the heart of this policy is a commitment by the federal government to foster and encourage tribal self-government, economic development and self-sufficiency. That commitment was signed into law in 1975 as the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Public Law 93-638, 88 Stat. 2203, 25 U.S.C. Sections 450-450n. In 1983, President Reagan reaffirmed that commitment in his Indian Policy Statement, encouraged tribes to reduce their dependence on federal funds by generating more of their own revenues and pledged to assist tribes in that endeavor. In 1988 the federal commitment to promote tribal economic development, tribal self-sufficiency and strong tribal government was expressly legislated in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ("IGRA"), Public Law 100-497, 102 Stat. 2426, 25 U.S.C. Section 2710, et. seq. (1988), which recognized the inherent sovereign right of tribes to operate and their exclusive right to regulate on Indian lands gaming that is not specifically prohibited by federal law and is conducted within a state that does not, as a matter of criminal law and public policy, prohibit such gaming, and provided a federal statutory basis for operation and regulation of Indian gaming.

(c) Stockbridge-Munsee Policy of Self-Government. The Tribe is firmly committed to the principal of tribal self-government. Consistent with federal policy, tribal government provides a wide range of public services, including general governmental services, the maintenance of peace and good order and the promotion and regulation of economic activities within the sovereign jurisdiction of the Tribe.

(d) Title, Repeal of Prior Laws, and Effect of Repeal. This Ordinance may be cited as the Stockbridge-Munsee Gaming Ordinance. The Ordinance shall be appropriately inserted in the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Code. All Ordinances of the Tribe that pertain to gaming and are in effect as of the effective date of this revised Ordinance are hereby repealed, and all other tribal laws or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed. Repeal of this Ordinance or any portion thereof shall not have the effect of reviving any prior tribal law heretofore repealed or suspended, unless otherwise stated in this Ordinance.

(e) Construction. In construing the provisions of this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires, the following rules shall apply:

(1) This Ordinance shall be liberally construed to effect its purpose and to promote substantial justice.

(2) Words in the present tense include the future and past tenses.

(3) Words in the singular number include the plural, and words in the plural number include the singular.

(4) Words of the masculine gender or neutral gender include masculine and feminine genders and the neuter.

(f) Severability. If any section of this Ordinance is invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining sections shall not be affected thereby.

(g) Amendments. All amendments to this ordinance shall have prospective effect and any amendment to this ordinance shall not have any effect on the employment status of any employee at the time the amendment is approved.