Native Threads Profile: Anthony R. Pico
Chairman: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians
Anthony R. Pico is serving his 11th term of office as tribal chairman. Under Chairman Pico’s leadership, the Viejas Band has set a state and national example for economic development and diversification. Operators and owners of the multi-million dollar Viejas Casino, Viejas Retail Outlet Center, four restaurants, Ma-Tar-Awa RV Park, located on the reservation in Alpine, and another RV Park nearby. The tribe is also the owner of Borrego Springs Bank and a partner with three other tribes in the recently opened, $43 million Residence Inn by Marriott, located near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and another $53 million Residence Inn under construction in Sacramento, Calif.
Respected nationally for his ability to communicate about the issues of gaming, tribal government sovereignty and other contemporary issues, Chairman Pico served as a spokesman for the landmark Proposition 5 campaign, which through the voice of the state’s voters, ended a 10-year stalemate over the right of Indian governments to engage in casino gaming.
He was state co-chair of the victorious Proposition 1A campaign initiative, giving California Indians the constitutional right to engage in casino gaming on tribal land. In 2004, he set an example of individual integrity and statesmanship, sitting down at the table with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to negotiate a new tribal state compact. The new agreement provides for a fair share agreement of increased revenue to the state and local environmental impact protections for communities adjacent to tribal casino development.
A Kumeyaay leader steeped in the customs and traditions of his people, Pico leads by consensus, example and a commitment to the well-being of the Viejas people combined with the willingness to act when other’s hesitate. He credits the courage of his elders and tribal councils for the tribe’s forward-looking policies of business diversification and political ascendancy in less than 15 years.
He has received numerous awards from educators, labor, civic, religious and community organizations including the Barrio Station’s "Dignity in Leadership Award," the “Humanitarian Award” from the San Diego Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, the Urban League’s first ever “John Johnson Award,” and the “Jay Silverheels Award” from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
He was named NIGA’s “Man of the Year” in 1997, and received the organization’s 1999 Award as “Outstanding Spokesman for Indian Gaming.” Pico also received the “Indian Leader of the Year Award” from the National Indian Business Association, and the prestigious “Golden Achievement Award” from the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Diego. Selected by Casino Business Magazine as one of the top ten tribal entrepreneurs, he was also the first Indian to be recognized by San Diego Magazine as one of “50 People to Watch.” Selected to carry the Olympic Torch on its journey to the Los Angeles Olympics, he was recently inducted into the Grossmont Community College Walk of Fame, as an outstanding alumnus.
He is a former chairman of the California Nevada Indian Gaming Association, now the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), having served for many years as chair of the association’s Public Relations Committee. Pico served many years on the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) Executive Committee and the NIGA/NCAI (National Congress of American Indians) Tribal Leader Task Force on Indian Gaming.
Pico founded and served two years as chairman of the National Inter-Tribal Relations Network, providing public relations support for NIGA and NCAI, and led a group of 27 working foreign correspondents on an economic tour of seven American Indian reservations across the United States.
Today, he serves as co-chairman of the national Tribal Leaders Education Committee for the Tribal Governance and Economic Enhancement Initiative, and on the board of directors of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF).
Described by his peers as a statesman, Pico believes that if tribal leaders do not step forward and use every opportunity to educate the public about the sovereign status of tribes and the place of American Indians in the 21st Century, others will continue to misrepresent and misinterpret Native people. Often testifying before Congress on Native issues from taxation to Homeland Security, he is an advocate of strong tribal governments as the means to advancing American Indian culture, traditions and economic progress.
A requested speaker and writer, Pico maintains a busy schedule of public speaking engagements on numerous subjects. He has been a guest speaker at the Sacramento and National Press Clubs, Native American Journalists Association, the Annenberg School of Journalism, UCLA Indian Studies the Harvard Symposium on Economic Development, numerous chambers of commerce, and Keynote speaker at the Communication Workers of America’s Awards Dinner, The American Bar Association, National Indian Justice Center, California Indian Law Association, United States Navy, World Gaming Congress, Native American Preparatory School, the California Attorney General’s Tribal and Justice Summit, and International Masters of Gaming Law.
He has been the subject of a number of documentaries such as Frontline, Forefront, and German and Dutch Public Television, and a public broadcasting series to air September 2005, entitled “Beyond the Dream.” Featured in Fortune Magazine and USA Today, and Business Week, he appears regularly on public radio and television, and contributes columns and editorials to gaming publications such as International Gaming and Wagering, Indian Gaming Magazine, Indian Country Today, The American Indian Journal, and newspapers such as the Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times, and San Diego Union.
Pico has an Associate of Arts Degree from Grossmont College, El Cajon, California, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Long Island University, New York. Chairman Pico served in Vietnam as an Army paratrooper, where he received a number of Distinguished Service medals. He has two sons, Tommy Pico, is attending Sarah Lawrence College, in New York, and studying to be a doctor. John Elliott is on the tribal council of the Manzanita Band of Kumeyaay Indians.
Chairman Pico has been a friend to Rudy Rojas and Native Threads since 1990. He has watched Native Threads grow over the years — from a small one-man operation into Indian Country’s leading Native-owned clothing brand and apparel manufacturer. Pico has always admired Native Threads’ commitment to preserving and promoting Native Culture. He was honored to appear in Native Threads’ 2004 Fall / Holiday catalog, which was dedicated to empowering the Native Vote. The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians has benefited from the marketing and apparel manufacturing services provided by Rudy and his staff at Native Threads. Native Threads has designed and/or manufactured a wide range of products for Viejas, including custom logo apparel and screenprinted shirts for casino promotions and Concerts in the Park.
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