Ernie Stevens Jr., chair of the Indian Gaming Association and Oneida Nation chief, has died

Ernie “Big Cat” Stevens Jr., a driving pressure behind the enlargement of Native American gaming for greater than 20 years, has died. He was 66.

The Indian Gaming Association, a Washington, D.C.-based group that works to guard tribes and promote tribal gaming, introduced Monday that Stevens died Friday on the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. His aunt, Bobbi Webster, confirmed his demise in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

“It’s sort of unfathomable,” Webster mentioned of Stevens’ demise. “He was pretty young and vibrant and athletic and healthy. It just came as an unexpected shock to everyone who knew him to lose him.”

Stevens was in his thirteenth two-year time period as chair of the Indian Gaming Association when he died. In a information launch asserting Stevens’ demise, the affiliation referred to as him a fierce defender of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a 1988 federal regulation that fashioned the authorized foundation of tribal gaming. During his tenure as chair, tribal gaming revenues climbed from $11 billion in 2000 to just about $44 billion final 12 months, the discharge mentioned.

“Chairman Stevens’ passing leaves a void that will be felt across all of Indian Country,” Jason Giles, the affiliation’s govt director, mentioned within the launch. “He was not only our Chairman, but a mentor, a friend, and a warrior for tribal sovereignty. His legacy will continue to guide our work for generations to come.”

Stevens served on the Oneida Nation tribal council from 1993 to 1999, in keeping with a biography on the affiliation’s web site. He additionally served as first vp of the National Congress of American Indians and on the boards of varied organizations, together with the National Center for American Enterprise Development; the Center for Native American Youth; the Nike N7 Foundation, which provides grants to tribal nations; and the Native American Advisory Board for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wrote on her Facebook web page Friday that Stevens was form and at all times prepared to assist.

“He was tremendously optimistic about the abilities of Indigenous people and displayed sharp, decisive leadership,” Haaland wrote. “When I got the news of his passing, I realized the difficulty in imagining this world without him. He will be missed.”

Stevens, and his spouse, Cheryl, collectively had 5 kids and 15 grandchildren. The Oneida Nation has deliberate a memorial program for him Friday night earlier than he’s interred Saturday morning on the tribe’s burial grounds exterior Green Bay.

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This story has been up to date to right that Stevens was in his thirteenth time period as Indian Gaming Association chair.