LITR 4332: American Minority Literature

Mallory Rogers

Native Americans’ Influence through Casinos

            When we were asked to write about a topic that we were interested in as far as minorities were concerned it was a natural choice for me to choose Native American Indians as I am fascinated with their story or survival and influence.  Casinos on reservation land prove not to be only mere tourist attractions, but new prosperous opportunities for those working and living on the reservations as well. 

            We have seen thus far this semester, especially in The Lone Ranger… that gambling and drinking go hand in hand for the Indians and their ways of life. (1) Eventually, this stemmed to the idea of parlors made just for this recreation.  These casinos were dreamt about from not only the Indians hardened economic times, but also their heritage and culture.  In order to make a living and be well off by those living on the land, these tribes felt it a necessity to uncover money making ideals which eventually became casinos.  They weren’t only built for recreation though; they also were to serve the purpose of building the economic status of tribes. (5)  These families living on the land would come to depend on the money that the casino was bringing in and also on the jobs and opportunities that came along with it.  The Indians saw a chance to make a prosperous amount of money, as the American Dream entitles everyone too.

            It is a known fact that on the reservations Indians have a hard time finding a decent paying job that will give them the money they need to support their families.  Unemployment rates can be as high as seventy percent during any given period of the year. (2)  But what do casinos really bring to their tables at then end of the day?  Security, financial stability, and a positive outlook on what the future could possibly hold are the answers.  Because these Casino’s are built on Reservations belonging to Native American Indians the normal rules, including taxing, that the US supreme court can apply to everyday casinos do not come into play here.  The casino bosses, who are all Native American descents, are “tribal leaders - free to set their own whimsical rules for admission, without regard to Indian heritage. They may exclude rivals, potential whistle-blowers and other legitimate claimants.” (3)  So basically, not only do they get the freedom from the harsh taxes of the rest of the United States’ casinos regulated by the Supreme Court, but they also use this as an opportunity to get back at those who tried to cause them to vanish by keeping those with potential to expose defects out of the casinos in a legal way.  Therefore, the Indians win and their casinos remain prosperous even if they are far from legal in the rest of the US.  It’s one of their perks and the Indians are well aware of their advantages because of it.  With their casino industries booming at an all-time high, it’s no wonder the Indians feel secure and are leading much more luxurious lives than those from the reservations in the 1800’s. 

            With advantages though, there are always disadvantages lurking in their shadows.  As a result of the casino’s flourishing the Indians are made to open their reservations and let in those who are not of their heritages.  This means that for the most part of their money, the Indians on these reservations are not depending on their family, friends, and relatives but rather the outsiders of the wicked and cold America.  This includes the white population, which many Native Americans have come to be less than concerned with due to the actions they have encountered previously as the immigrants and settlers made the “New America.”  In Arizona, more than one third of the population has been to a casino on a reservation while one third of those claim to play “often” and “sometimes.”  (4) 

So what would the casinos be without their outside help?  More likely than not, these casinos would not be able to survive the harsh economy the tribes bring them.  With an over-powering unemployment rate, there just would be no other way then to accept these foreigners into their sacred land and lead them to their casinos to spend Junior’s college tuition money, their savings accounts, and even their plane tickets home.  So while Casino’s on Indian reservations not only benefit the tribes, they also play a large part in holding them back from financial freedom due to their dependence of the outside races. 

            To sum everything up, casinos on Reservations bring forth security, financial stability, and employment opportunities far beyond that of the history of the Indians.  The seventy percentile unemployment rate and the thousands living in poverty could expect to lead an easier, more stable lifestyle as a result of the prosperity the casinos bring to their land. In fact, the success levels go far beyond that of the Indians and the land on which they were built. They are also money makers for the states they are located in as well.  In 2004, the Governor of California “waged a war in order to get money from the casinos in order to help curb the deficit the state was in.” (4)   Not only are the Indians profiting here, but the entire population as well, thanks to these large-scale gaming opportunities that these casino’s and Indians are essentially providing.  The true test of time will only prove to increase living to a better and more secure financial state for not only the Indian Casinos but entire regions and states as well. How good it will actually be? Well, we will just have to wait and see.

Works Cited

1. Alexie, Sherman.  The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. New York:

            Atlantic Monthly Press, 1993.

2. Bartlett, Donald and Steele, James. "Wheel of Fortune." Time Magazine.

            08 December 2002: 37-44.

3. Nash, Douglas Roger.  “Indian Gaming”. 1999.  University of Idaho School of Law. 

            May 2, 2007. <http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Jan/1/241489.html> 

4.  Solop, Fred. April 2002. Social Research Laboratory of Northern Arizona University. May 3, 2007. <http://www4.nau.edu/srl/News/04-09-02.pdf>

5. Wikipedia.com.  “Indian Casinos”.  May 2, 2007.

            <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_casino>