Politically Speaking: The prickly question of tribal casinos

Like the gold rush of 1848, the rush for gambling in Massachusetts began with a single strike. This came not from the governor, but from perhaps the most overlooked demographic in the United States - Native Americans. The Mashpee Wampanoag received federal recognition and, pursuant to their rights as a tribe, began to look into building a casino.

Like other gambling tribes, the Wampanoag have looked at the opportunities stemming from gambling and decided to take the plunge.

But what are the effects of tribal gambling thus far? When Congress passed the Indian Gaming Rights Act (IGRA) in 1989 it meant to provide federally recognized Indian tribes with the opportunity to use gambling establishments as a way to secure financial independence. Almost 20 years after its passage, we see that it has both succeeded and failed in this mission.

Throughout much of the 20th century, Indian tribes were among the most destitute and hopeless of all major demographic groups in the United States.

Many lived on reservations riddled with drug problems and alcoholism and plagued by high rates of suicide. Often lacking basic necessities such as running water or adequate housing, tribes were essentially wards of the state.

For many tribes, gambling has changed that. Consider the Saginaw Chippewa Indians of central Michigan. Before the IGRA, their reservation was one of the poorest regions in Michigan, with many trailers lacking even indoor plumbing.

Now as a tribe, they own a casino-resort, a golf course, a hotel, and a convenience store. They are able to provide services for the elederly, education, and housing for their constituents and distribute a cash stipend to each tribal member. The pace of the turnaround has been staggering.

In fewer than 15 years, the reservation has gone from a place of despair with seemingly irreversible poverty to a growing community with the resources to take care of its own.

The windfall for tribes hasn't been all positive, however. Tribes face stereotypes and jealousy that can result in ugly racial confrontation and increasing pressure from both inside and outside of the tribe to spread the wealth.

Stories of confrontations over blood quotas are common as some tribes try to increase their per capita benefits by delineating who "deserves" money and who doesn't. In addition, gambling does not help all Native Americans.

Of the over 500 federally recognized tribes in the United States - and there are hundreds more tribal groups not federally recognized - only 225 have any sort of gambling income. This leaves the majority out of the rain, especially because gambling is particularly lucrative for small tribes.

Many observers also worry that gambling is harming Native American culture, pointing out that rumors about tribes "created" or "reconstituted" for the purpose of forming a gambling complex no matter how unfounded do a great disservice to the Native American community as a whole. They see the cost of the stigma and perceived corruption of gambling as not befitting the traditionally honorable perception of Native American culture.

What these observers miss is the way in which many tribes have used gambling money to re-establish a connection with their history.

Recent interest in Native American culture has often come from the opening of museums or completion of research projects that are regularly funded by casino profits. With the resources to invest in reconnecting with history, many tribes have actually revitalized their traditions.

Other anti-gambling advocates argue that states and private interests may try to "use" tribes to raise their own bottom lines. When IGRA was passed, no one foresaw the coming Indian casinos as great gambling money machines such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

Rather, they envisioned smaller scale operations with a mostly local impact that would help reservations survive. Now that tribal gambling is big business - to the tune of $20 billion - states want a piece of the action. They see that their economies are strongly affected by Indian casinos and therefore often trade gaming rights for a cut of the profits.

In addition, private casino management companies also take a cut. By taking on the substantial financial responsibilities of campaigning to get federal status, legally battling states and localities, and fronting the initial building costs, these investors reap substantial rewards for their patronage.

This is the way business gets done in the United States, but in the context of the historical exploitation of Native Americans, it raises questions about the agency of Native Americans in this whole process. Yet, some welcome signs persist. Many tribes have taken the money made in casino operations and diversified their investments in other businesses, often providing seed money for new tribal businesses.

Determining the degree to which the IGRA has helped Native Americans is a complex proposition. For those tribes with major casinos, the additional financial resources have had an almost incalculable effect on the lifestyle and a security of the tribe. For others, however, casinos have added a stigma, another means of racial condescension toward Indian tribes. The final assessment can neither be totally positive nor totally negative. It is an innately flawed system - no reparation can ever make up for the way native peoples were treated throughout the history of this country. But, it cannot be denied that for some tribes, the IGRA has helped them escape the dubious and humiliating distinction of being wards of the state and finally become financially independent and able to care for their members adequately.