NIGA 2009 (Day 2)

Circumstances kept us up till almost 5 am, so we didn't get much sleep Tuesday night. But we made it to our booth only 10 minutes after the floor opened, which is excellent for us.

Our booth was at the end of a central aisle near the bathroom, which is a good location. Usually we're in a far corner of the hall.

For whatever reason, we got a lot of name-brand traffic, and people hung around for some time. The visitors included Kevin Gover and Aurene Martin; Ben Nighthorse Campbell; Mark Macarro, who sat at our booth for an hour; Teri Poust; Deb Krol; Lise Balk King and her new IMAX venture; Brenda Soulliere and her daughter; Butch Murphy; Adam Beach; Suzette Brewer, author of the new book Sovereign; comedians Charlie Hill, Terry Ree of Williams & Ree, and Marc Yaffee; and more.

After the floor show we returned to our hotel for 3-4 hours. Then we headed back to the convention center for the Wendell Chino Humanitarian Award dinner.

We missed the social hour, which was no big loss. As the ceremony proceeded, we ate a tasty dinner. We saw a video tribute to Clinton Pattea, chairman of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Tribe--this year's winner. Then, to much applause, Pattea accepted the award with a heartfelt speech.

Next, rapper Litefoot, who was serving as MC, introduced the legendary Beach Boys. The band played their lesser hits and we were thinking of leaving. Only a couple hundred people were left in the hall at that point.

Then the Beach Boys kicked the evening into overdrive with Wouldn't It Be Nice, God Only Knows, Good Vibrations, and California Girls. People started dancing and taking pictures in front of the stage. It was pretty special to be 20 ft. away from one of the greatest bands of all time.

After that we headed to a comedy jam at a nearby theater. We saw comedian J.R. Redwater do an extended riff on dating Native women. Not only was he funny, but he had great charisma and stage presence. He could be the lead actor in a youth-oriented Native comedy.

Finally, we stopped by the Thalden-Boyd party at the nearby Chase bank building. It was crowded with Indians who had left the Beach Boys concert prematurely. We did a bit of schmoozing, then returned to our hotel, where we watched Keanu Reeves in The Day the Earth Stood Still.

For more on the subject, see NIGA 2009 (Day 1) and The Facts About Indian Gaming.