Impact of Native American gaming
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The impact of Native American gaming depends on the tribe and its location. In the 1970s, various tribes took unprecedented action to initiate
Success
Gaming can be extremely successful because it stimulates the
These enterprises earned $4.5 billion in 1995, and the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development reported $19.4 billion in 2005. This accounts for 25.8% of the US's $75 billion gaming revenue.[1] Tribal gaming provides 400,000 jobs, and the profits often go toward programs that create jobs.[6] For example, 75% of the profit generated by Cherokee Nation Enterprises in 2005 was given to the Jobs Growth Fund, which expands businesses within the Cherokee Nation to create more jobs.[7]
Revenues, by law, must go toward improving reservation communities. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires that revenues go toward tribal government operations, promotion of the welfare of the tribe and its citizens, economic development, support of charitable organizations, and compensation to local non-Native governments for support of services provided by those governments.[1] Tribes have boosted their socioeconomic status in the past several years by improving their infrastructure, but due to the lack of federal and state funding, have only been able to do so as a result of gaming enterprises. For instance, tribes often build casino-related facilities that draw visitors such as hotels, conference centers, entertainment venues, golf courses, and RV parks.
Once a reservation has established a strong economic foundation, it can draw in businesses that are unrelated to gaming. A common trend is that casinos stimulate the economy, and other business sustain it. For instance, the
Some tribes distribute funds on a per capita basis to directly benefit citizens.[8] Because these have sometimes shown negative impact such as a dependence on tribal government, low attendance in school, and an unwillingness to work, some tribes have experimented with decreasing per capita payments as punishment. For example, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Tribal Council deducted at least $100 from families' payments if children have low school attendance, yielding a 30% increase in graduation in three years. The Las Vegas Paiute Nation deducted funding for jail provision from the offenders' payments because the Nation does not have a jail and must rent it from other governments. Punishments such as these provide an incentive for morality through a direct link to financial assistance from the payments.[1]
States also benefit from Native American gaming enterprises. States cannot tax reservations, but they can, under IGRA, negotiate a compact and demand compact payments. Tribes usually pay near or less than 10% of profit to states. The state of Michigan earned an estimated $325 million from tribes spanning from 1993-2003.[1]
Laws require a tribe to agree to a state compact upon request, but the IGRA says nothing about local governments. However, many tribes do negotiate with local governments. They place a strain on traffic and emergency services, and a tribe not uncommonly tries to compensate for that. Native Americans pay $50 million annually to local governments across the nation. In addition, non-Natives hold 75% of the 300,000 jobs that belong to Native American gaming.[4]
With gaming profits, the
Failure
Other than gaming, most of the many past attempts to revitalize Native American economies have failed. Two of the more successful ventures include selling gasoline and cigarettes for a much lower price because there is no state tax. Less effective Seminole Nation efforts include cattle raising, craft selling, and alligator wrestling. Cattle operations led to government dependency and debt, and benefit mostly the individual.[2]
If a Native American casino is unsuccessful, its failure is often linked to its geographic location. The size of a tribe is usually insignificant. This argument follows the logic of a free market economy. Tribes with a strong economic base find it easier to draw in new businesses and consumers. Tribes in remote locations suffer because they lack a consumer base to support new and existing businesses.
The
Impact on native cultures
With Native American gaming has come the image of a "rich Indian". This depiction contrasts other images of Native Americans portrayed as savage, pure, connected to nature, and spiritual. The reality that some Native Americans are powerful
Eve Darian-Smith and others have asserted that the effect of gaming on Indian culture in general is a loss of a
Controversy
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There is some controversy of Native American gaming because it is argued that it contributes to a moral decay. Gambling, it is argued, promotes crime and pathological behavior.
In late 2002, TIME magazine printed a special report entitled "Indian Casinos: Wheel of Misfortune" that infuriated Native Americans nationwide. Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, wrote a letter to the editor of TIME in response to the report.[4]
In popular culture
The first literary appearance of Native American gaming was in
See also
- Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal
- Native American identity in the United States
- Native American reservation politics
- Native American self-determination
- Tribal disenrollment
- Tribal sovereignty
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Harvard. The State of the Native Nations. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
- ^ a b Cattelino, Jessica R. High Stakes: Florida Seminole Gaming and Sovereignty. Durham: Duke UP, 2008. Print.
- ^ Harvard. The State of the Native Nations. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.5
- ^ a b c d e f Stevens, Jr., Ernest L. (December 10, 2002). "NIGA RESPONDS TO TIME ARTICLE". Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. Archived from the original on May 30, 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Darian-Smith, Eve. New Capitalists: Law, Politics, and Identity Surrounding Casino Gaming on Native American Land. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2004. Print.
- ^ a b Waldman, Carl. Atlas of The North American Indian. 3rd ed. New York: Infobase, 2009. Print.
- ^ SMITH 8
- ^ Waldman, Carl. Atlas of The North American Indian. 3rd ed. New York: Infobase, 2009. Print. 281
- ^ Schwartz, Stephanie M. "WAMBLI HO, VOICE OF THE EAGLES: SPECIAL REPORT." Native Village. 2002. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <Nativevillage.org>.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, October 27, 1998
- ^ Pasquaretta, Paul. Gambling and Survival in Native North America. Tucson: The University of Arizona, 2003. Print.