The second threat is many states are legalizing or planning to legalize commercial casino gambling. Unlike Native American casinos commercial casinos turn over a large share of their profit to the cities and states in taxes.
A staff writer for ABC News in Arizona in an article titled "Casinos Not Paying Off for Indians" also points out that the Indian casinos don’t always improve the lives of the tribe members. In an article titled "Casinos Not Paying Off for Indians" the writer makes an attempt to prove most of the Native American casinos do little to improve the lives of the tribe members. The Apache Gold Casino in San Carlos, Arizona is a golf and gambling resort with a $40 million hotel. A plaque outside the resort declares the resort has “helped enable the San Carlos Apache Tribe to give a better quality of life to its tribal members.” Seven years after opening many Apache families still live in mobile homes. The unemployment rate has climbed from 42 percent in 1991 to 58 percent in 1997. The number of tribal members receiving welfare has jumped 20 percent and the tribal government still grants home sites without water and sewer connections.
“We get no help from the casino, no money, nothing,” said Pauline Randall, 75, a lifelong resident of San Carlos. The same complaints complaints are made on other reservations that have built casinos in the last decade. Many Indians state that either the casinos make little profit after expenses, or the profit is paid mostly to the Indian officials that have been placed charge of the the management of the casinos. An Associated Press computer analysis of federal unemployment, poverty and public assistance records indicates the majority of American Indians have benefited little. Semin...
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...their casino operation is the media attention given to the few tribal gaming operations that have seen great success. The writer notes that the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe in Connecticut and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Minnesota are among the most successful gambling establishments in the country. However, these operations are the exception, rather than the rule. There are 175 tribal operations in rural areas that are only marginally profitable.
Of the Native American gaming operations that do make a sizable profit, unemployment on their reservations has been greatly reduced. With their gaming revenues they have been able to to create and maintain police force, fire and ambulance services, health and child-care services, and invest in education. Currently all Native American gaming operations revenues account for 21% of total gaming industry in America
The population of Native Americans living in poverty is double compared to the U.S overall population rate living in poverty. Williams wrote, “Unemployment is extremely high (90%on some Canadian reserves during winter months), and income levels are extremely low.” Federal housing program often allow Native Americans to be able to afford housing at low cost, but are not considered to be the best living conditions. Reservations are often located in rural areas where it is hard to obtain employment due to location and where access to resources is limited. In the article mentioned above Williams wrote, “Run down trailers and shacks are not uncommon.”(P.386) This kind of housing can be almost unlivable and sometimes even dangerous. It’s even common to see living situation without basic utilities of electricity or water in remote areas (Williams,
When the word “Native American” is mentioned, the first thing most people will think of is Indian gaming. As many people know, only Native Americans can conduct gaming while people from other ethnicity cannot. This leads to the belief that it is an indirect way for the American government to repay the tribal government for taking their lands. This is partially true. The right to conduct gaming on reservations begins with the Indian Gaming Regulation Act (IGRA). Since its establishment in 1988, hundreds of tribes are able to negotiate an agreement with the governments to operate casinos on reservation lands. However, this is not the only intention of IGRA. Although Congress says that the real purpose of IGRA is to allow Indians to open casinos so tribes can support themselves, it is merely a set of laws that limits the tribe’s right on gaming.
...se. The tribe is currently building many welfare programs, educational programs, establishing health benefits, plus laying aside money to distribute to the entire tribe. The money is currently collecting interest in a trust until the Bureau of Indian Affairs gives approval to a distribution plan. The lawsuits to reclaim the land have been put on hold. The Tigua are getting what they want through the casino. They are by choice quietly buying land that is legally theirs anyway. Though they are the rightful owners, the Tigua do not wish to make a big scene. They prefer to achieve economic independence on their own, hopefully reducing the chances of being taken advantage of again. Only six full-blooded Tigua remain, and they still plow and keep their traditional lands. They continue to teach children and grandchildren how to be Tigua.
Gambling... Who does not like to gamble? People play lotteries, bet on sport games or try their luck on slot machines with a thought to win some amount of money. In fact, this excitement for gambling can be seen even from early ages; for example, ancient Egyptians used to play dice in 2000 BC or the first casinos opened their doors to customers during the Greeco-Roman period ( Whittaker and Cushman 1 ). Nowadays casino industry is a large business in the United States that brings high revenues and offers various entertainment that attracts people from different areas. So just recently residents and visitors of Worcester, Wicomico and surrounding counties got a great opportunity to try themselves in a new Ocean Downs casino that came into operation couple months ago. Ocean Downs casino is an excellent benefit to the community that helps to improve the economic and social status of the county and also serves as a great entertainment for the adult population.
For years casino gambling was portrayed in the media and Hollywood as being associated with criminal activities and the mafia. Now with proper scrutiny and government regulations casino gambling has become a lucrative business, with casinos stock even trading on Wall Street. Casino gambling is an ever increasingly popular and legal activity in many states throughout the United States. “The term gambling or ‘gaming’ as the industry calls it, means any legalized form of wagering or betting conducted in a casino, on a riverboat, on an Indian reservation, or at any other location under the jurisdiction of the United States” (National Gambling Impact Study Commission Act). States that allow casino gambling benefit vastly by re-incorporating the taxation off of commerce gained from casinos and tourism associated with the casinos back into the state and local communities. Jobs created by casinos also have a positive impact on the economy in local communities surrounding casinos as well as, the states that legalize gambling. Texas, while allowing horse and dog racing, lottery, and charitable bingo, does not currently prohibit casino gambling. In this essay, I will provide the different reasons the State of Texas will benefit from legalizing casinos gambling. By not having casinos, Texas continues to lose valuable tax revenue that could be awarded to state and local government funded programs for example, education, public safety, economic development, and infrastructure improvements. With the increasing number of legal casinos in bordering states such as Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, the loss of tourism and tax revenue is a growing concern for Texas. Passing legislation to allow casinos in the State of Texas will help fund ...
The law categorized gambling into three classes and depending on the class gambling could be done freely, done with the approval of the National Indian Gaming Commission, or done with the approval of whatever state the reservation is in. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act had a great effect on New Mexico, as well as the Indian communities who chose to participate, and even those that didn’t. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act made New Mexico an even larger tourist attraction than the art communities and beautiful landscape had and brought millions of dollars that would aid the tribes and further the economic development on tribal lands. The funds made from the casinos helped Natives lose the title of second class citizen and bring much needed social equality between Indian and non-Indian peoples. Of those tribes who benefited the most from the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act were the Mescalero Apache Tribe who were amongst the first to construct casinos and profit from them immensely. Many tribes chose to participate in gaming because they had no other economic opportunities available to them, but a few chose not to. An example of those who chose not to benefit from the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act were the Navajo and Hopi
In conclusion, the persistent disparities in American Indians and Alaska Natives communities are deeply rooted in historical trauma. To improve the health status of AI/AN there needs more American Indian/Alaska Natives delivery health care to the community. More importantly, tribal leaders and the AI/AN community must participate in raising the health status of the community. It should not take a congressional action to decrease the disparities plaguing the American Indian/Alaska Native communities.
While I am not sure if I truly am, or if I could actually trace my roots, the issue of Native Americans has always been a prominent one to me. It is especially important now that my son is confirmed Native American through his father, whose heritage traces back to the Chippewa tribe. However, I have always been interested in Native American culture, heritage, issues, and the like. In history, I have always found the story of Native Americans to be one of the most interesting. I also feel that through researching Native American problems in the past and present, I am contributing to the solution by becoming more educated, giving myself the ability to educate others because I am more understanding of the Native American concerns. Native American issues are very rarely touched upon, even in schools, where the story of Native American’s is often summarized into a page or two in history books, as well as being grossly misconstrued to reflect the “pilgrims and Indians” ideal held by America today. The way for Native Americans to move forward from the current issues of unemployment, poverty, and so much more, is to begin with educating the public on their history and bring light to these issues. Too often, people assume that Native Americans have the ultimate pardon from the government, going untaxed and rolling in riches because of the abundance of casinos they own. These
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
In an effort to provide jobs and reverse the poverty that had long plagued the Coeur d’Alene people, in 1989 tribal member David Matheson started conducting market analyses and feasibility studies for a casino to be built on the reservation. The plan, with approval of the state, was to build a 100,000 square-foot casino and offer both bingo and casino-style gaming.
Although poverty rates on some reservations are getting better because of gambling enterprises and natural resources, most reservations have unusually high poverty rates. In 2000, the poverty rate of the entire United States was about 11.3%. Compare that to a 25.9% poverty rate for Native Americans living on reservations. The poverty rate of Native Americans in 2000 was higher than the peak of the poverty rate of the Great Depression, which was 21.7% (Native American Statistics”). This statistic alone shows that Native Americans are not doing well financially.
As “economic opportunities” align to the mandates of the world economy and are determined by the culture and experience of the United States government, both Pine Ridge and Rosebud maintain distressing levels of poverty and unemployment. In direct response to demands of the world economy, Lakota industry exhibits a growing dependence on cash instead of land, and breaks down community identity (65). Wal-Mart and Safeway chains encumber the production of Lakota-owned small businesses, and similar multinational business chains create limited market success. When a small business actually succeeds in surviving, competition immediately pops up and “neither [competing business] can make a living” on reservations (37). Attitudes towards successful Lakota entrepreneurs are often sour and unforgiving, as everyone else struggles to survive.
The circumstances the Native American people endured clarify their current issues. American Indians have poor education and a high percent are unemployed when equated to “U.S. all races” (Spector, 2009, p. 205). Many American Indians still live on reservations and work as a
Sandefur, G. (n.d.). American Indian reservations: The first underclass areas? Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc121f.pdf
people to keep playing with. Nothing less that psychological warfare is going on at casinos across the country. " The days of shaved dice, missing face cards and rigged roulette wheels are long gone. But the pursuit of profitability in the The corporate era of gambling has turned the average casino into a financial.