Gambling On Indian Reservations: The Hope For A Nation Essay

The current poverty rate in America is 13.5 percent (US Census Bureau). That measures out to roughly 43.1 million Americans. What exactly is poverty? Poverty means not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter. However, poverty is so much more than just not having enough money. Poverty is not having access to a doctor or medications you may need, poverty is not having access to a good education. Poverty can be the people who are barely able to pay for food and shelter and simply can’t afford other expenses such as car repairs, field trips with their children and any other extracurricular activity.

Nichea Spillane argues that “Alcohol use among American Indians is perhaps the largest health concern in many American Indian communities” (8). Even with free medical clinics, known as Indian Health Services, many Native Americans who live in cities or have left their tribal lands find it difficult to receive the medical care that is needed. This could explain why, “Uninsured American Indians or Alaska Native Adults were more likely than uninsured adults in the general population to have binged on alcohol in the past month” (SAMHSA 6). Study after study show the disturbing effects of alcohol on the American Indians’ health. From minor health problems to alcohol-attributable deaths, to mental health and suicides, there is no way to document all the damage caused by excessive drinking. It is documented that “…excessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of preventable death and years of lost life in this population. During 2001-2005, AmericanIndian/ AlaskaNatives were more than twice as likely to die from alcohol-related causes, compared with the U.S. general population (Naimi et al. 940).

Although while some Native American Tribes may benefit financially because of the casinos, most have the worst standard of living in the United States.

Native American poverty is a social problem in the United States. For historic, political, sociocultural, and economic reasons, this issue affects not only those impoverished but American society as a whole. The most impoverished Native American communities are frequently within the boundaries of reservations. The rates of unemployment, low wages, and infant mortality are among the highest in the country on several reservations. Disease, mental illness, alcoholism, and fetal alcohol syndrome are also prevalent within the Native American population. To improve these conditions, strategies should be put into place to build stable economies in the otherwise isolated reservations.

Tribes are responsible for managing social services, health and education, housing and legal issues, natural resources and gaming establishments. Casino profits are generally used to fund educational and social services programs for the tribe. (Momper and Jackson 2007)

Alcoholism is the leading health and social problem of American Indians than any other race. Native Americans who end up leaving the reservation to pursue education or employment opportunities express a high degree of discomfort and anxiety as a result of “feeling caught in two worlds.” By leaving the reservation they are abandoning their traditions, however temporarily, and suffering a sense of personal loss and insecurity. In entering a new world, this sense of loss and insecurity is heightened and becomes exacerbated, particularly if they do not experience success or acceptance in the new environment (Major, A.K. A 2003). However, if success and acceptance in the new world occurs, these individuals will still suffer the pangs of abandonment since they can never fully return to the reservation. In some cases, forced assimilation has extinguished the culture from many Indians as their grandparents and parents were forced to abandon the old ways in order to become more American. Thomas Jefferson, as well as many others believed that Native Americans can be just as ‘White’ Americans. In an attempt to increase local employment opportunities, many tribes have turned to gambling casinos and the collateral business which support these ventures. Illegal activities would certainly increase among Indians because of the simple fact that they need to survive by any means necessary. This can all

As with many races and ethnicities, Native Americans have had the front row seat in social injustices related to gender and race from the social institutions in the United States. Native Americans faced much discrimination along with other groups when it came to educational institutions and businesses. In education, many young children had lower math and writing skills leading to fewer high school diplomas (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). In labor, Native Americans had high unemployment rates and a lower labor force than the rest of the demographic population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). They also have problems with poverty since more than twenty-five percent of this group live below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Additionally, there are high rates of violent victimization and contributing factors such as childhood trauma that lead to overall high deaths. A major contributing factor to these deaths is alcoholism which exceeds the US rates by seven times (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). Many of these statistics indicate great injustice. Furthermore, according to the Indian Health Services, American Indians have lower health and life expectancy when compared to the rest of America (2015). These staggering statistics point out some prevalent inequalities in modern social institutions that exist with Native Americans.

Native American tribal communities are one of the most disadvantaged and socially vulnerable groups in the United States. Widespread poverty, alcoholism and lack of services are common throughout Native American tribal lands, leading to high social vulnerability on many levels. In addition, tribes and their indigenous traditions may be particularly vulnerable to damage caused by environmental change, as “tribal cultural practices and religious beliefs are rooted in the

Towering Hundreds of feet in the air you might have noticed a casino near your town or city. These large complexes are basically a money making machine. Usually Owned by the Native American Culture. These are the main source of income on the reservation for these tribes (Native American Casinos). Although used by Native Tribes in America the First Casino originated in Italy in 1638. The Casinos are a place where many average Americans spin the wheel of luck trying to win a profit on their money. Now the chances of winning big vary as there are many different tiers of gambling. You can have very little money and play on the slots or you can be a high-roller and spend hundreds or thousands on games of black-jack or poker.

Not to be left out, The Economist published an article about alcoholism affecting Native Americans titled “The Wounds of Whiteclay An Alcoholism Epidemic Among the Lakota Sioux”. The article claims that “shops have been making immoral profits from the misery of vulnerable residents of the reservation” (Economist). Substance abuse is one of many reasons that many Natives do not go to college or receive higher education, as seen when Alexie writes “So what was I doing in racist Reardan, where more than half of every graduating class went to college? Nobody in my family had ever gone near a college” (Alexie, Forney, 56). All of these literary works show that alcoholism, along with other disadvantages brought to America by Europeans, hinders the success and the future of Natives.

Per capita payments are the cash that the tribe distributes each year from its casino profits, which have grown as gaming revenues have risen and can range from as little as a few hundred dollars a year to more than $100,000. These payments have been shown to have negative affects and could be done in a more positive and effective way. In the study done by the American Indian Law Journal, of the 17 tribes studies that handed casino profits directly to its members, 10 saw their poverty rates rise, and of the 7 tribes that did note, only two saw such an increase. One tribe in northern Washington has eliminated poverty completely, and that tribe does not issue any per capita payments and has used its casino profits to diversify into other businesses. With growing tribal gaming revenues, poverty can become worse through the way casino profits are sometimes distributed through its per capita payments. These payments can be seen as a form of reparations, but they show the negative affects they have on the Native Americans by allowing some of them to be comfortable with living in poverty because of they payments they know they are going to receive from the casinos due to their large profits and the way casinos distribute them.

Though the Indian Reservations were created so long ago, the quality of life has barely changed. It is extremely poor. So poor, in fact, that they are likened to developing countries. 60% of children are born out of wedlock and Native Americans are the third highest group in the country for teenage pregnancy. The suicide rate of Native American teenagers is three times that of the rest of America.

Because so many Native Americans are at risk for abuse at home, leaders have begun a program that aims at preventing suicide for the girls who have “repeatedly struggled with sexual and domestic violence” (Horowitz, “The Hard Lives”). It is a challenge to protect children from the damage of the poverty and addiction that lead to many “sexual assaults, domestic violence, and substance abuse” (Horowitz, “The Hard Lives”). These young people live in homes where there is a large amount of frustration and often adults will lash out at the children, which creates even more of a cycle of abuse. As poverty continues to worsen, addiction, especially drug abuse and alcoholism, continue to become even more widespread on Indian reservations. With alcoholic parents in the home, children are exposed to the dangers of drinking at a young age and many children, aged five or six, begin “experimenting with alcohol” (Children of the Plains). Statistics show how common alcoholism is for Native Americans: according to one source, “80 percent of adults on this reservation” are alcoholic because they turn to drink when they have trouble handling the poverty of their community (Children of the

Adding to Native American casino fortunes, their casinos are likely to increase over the next few years. It is noted that several states are reaching agreements to allow the introduction or expansion of Native American casinos because of the additional revenues they can provide. This increases the Native American casinos opportunities and consitutes a high barrier for new entrants. The major source for this entry barrier is the cost disadvantage independent of scale regarding the favorable government polices vis -a -vis the Indian Gaming and Recration Act of 1988.

The gambling industry is a big money maker in America. Gambling institutions exist in many states. These institutions consist of riverboat casinos, Indian reservation casinos, and regular gaming casinos that all accumulate millions of dollars to the state through taxes. This tax money is then used throughout the state for many programs that may include education, health, and road maintenance. The American Gaming Association (AGA) even claims that gambling institutions lower the taxes in many areas because of the large tax money they give the government (CQ 784). But does the gambling industry only help and build the economy and attract money from the public? Perhaps the gambling industry increases more than just government funds. Is it