The first thing Carmen Jones noticed was the FBI sniper on the roof of the Fort McDowell Casino following her as she walked around the building with her 10-month-old son in her arms. Nearby, more FBI agents in heavy flak jackets, some toting assault rifles, stood guard, sweltering in the 90-degree heat.

Jones, a tribal member of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, which owned and operated the casino, had rushed to the casino from her home after getting a call from Yavapai tribal elder Ella Doka. The older woman had driven a friend to work around 6 a.m. on May 12, 1992, when she saw the tribes’ slot machines being loaded into moving vans.