Obituary: Norm DesRosiers, tireless proponent of Native gaming

March 19, 2020 3:30 AM
  • CDC Gaming Reports
March 19, 2020 3:30 AM
  • CDC Gaming Reports

Norman H. DesRosiers of Highland, California, passed away on March 15, 2020, following a short illness. 

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A Purple Heart recipient, Vietnam veteran and graduate of Central Washington State University, Norm DesRosiers dedicated most of his career to Native American gaming regulations.

In 2007, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to serve on the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to help oversee all Native gaming operations in the U.S. He also served as a commissioner for several tribes, including the Buena Vista and Otoe-Missouria tribes, the Graton Rancheria, the Picayune Rancheria of Chuckchansi Indians, the Viejas band of Kumeyaay Indians, and the San Manuel band of Mission Indians. He also served as an executive director of the San Carlos Apache Tribal Gaming Commission, which was nationally recognized as a model regulatory agent. In addition, Norm worked for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation’s gaming commission as a supervisor of inspectors. He testified before many U.S. House and Senates Committee hearings related to Indian gaming.   

Norm an avid horseman and angler and was a licensed pilot. He’s survived by his wife Janice, three sons and a daughter, and 16 grandchildren.