Native American Casino Gambling Essay

American Indian culture included gambling for many centuries. More than 100 tribes were known to play different versions of dice games before the Europeans settled in the United States. In the United States, gambling on Indian reservations has become quite common. There are 225 tribes in 28 states who operate some sort of gaming facility. Gambling on reservations was initially established to promote economic development in order to increase the standard of living. It was seen as a way to increase income on poverty-stricken reservations. (Momper 2010)

About thirty miles off the highway and down a dirt road, you'll see the silhouette of a woman inside her house. She is exhausted, staring as the dust from the dirt floor mixes with the sunlight flowing through the holes the walls. She looks around and knows her life is in shambles. Her house is nothing more than rotting boards and rusted metal roofing. She has no electricity or indoor plumbing. Her only furniture is a moth-eaten couch and two old mattresses sprawled across the floor. Every day she must go to the river four miles from her house. Here she gets her drinking water and does the laundry. The neighbor children will follow her and play games. They are wearing

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.

The current generation of Native Americans does not deserve reparations for what happened to their ancestor because it is unreasonable to say that the current generations of Native Americans are disadvantaged due to the large revenues they generate from gambling. In the United States today, Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, and other gambling operations on India reservations or other tribal land. These areas are all have tribal sovereignty, which means that states have limited ability to forbid gaming there because of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Due to the negative affects from large revenues of gambling, Native Americans should not receive reparations for their land. Currently, almost half of American’s

Harrah’s Casino has impacted the Cherokee people financially in a innumerous amount of ways. A paper written by Carol Alexander from the University of Tennessee at Martin discusses the variety of ways in which Harrah’s Casino affects the Cherokee people both directly and indirectly. Some of examples of this include the total yearly salary provided for Harrah’s ~1,800 employees, the trust fund for the reservation’s children that a portion of the revenue is funneled into, the types of businesses the gambling revenue has helped to establish and the like.

Gambling has been around for quite some time. Initially outlawed, it became legal in 1931 and it has been an interesting road from there. The ringing of slot machines, winning at bingo or poker has become an addiction of sorts, to people of different races and cultures. And Native Americans have not been left out either.

3). Of course, these high growth industries pertain to casinos as depicted through the picture, which precedes the text. of a large Bingo Casino owned by the Coeur D’Alene Tribe. This only serves to further the growing belief in America's society that Native Americans have struck it rich with the establishment of Casinos, but unemployment among adult Indians is about 15 percent – roughly three times the national average – and Native Americans remain America’s poorest people. Of the more than 560 Native American nations, only 224 are involved in gaming (NARF, n.d., para. 3).

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.

Along with the Supreme Court’s 1987 decision in California vs. Cabazon, the passing of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 has made gaming a significant part of tribal economic development. Gaming has brought about economic self-determination for Native Americans for the first time in over two hundred years (Neath, 1995). Over two hundred of the United States’ 544 federally recognized tribes have established gaming on tribal lands (Neath, 1995). However, along with the economic profits, Indian gaming has brought many Native Americans back to reservations after many years of living off-reservation.

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

The debate has reopened on a subject surrounded by a controversial and shameful history, American Indian Reservations and treaty agreements dating back to the1800’s. A recent article on Native American Policy questions whether the reservation system works. It asks whether sovereignty and the resulting segregation are the best policy for American Indian welfare (“Native American Policy”). These relics of our early governmental administration’s attempts at the domination and assimilation of the indigenous peoples of North America are far outdated. It is past time to revisit this failed societal experiment, and with fresh eyes find a way to honor the Sovereignty of the Indian Nations who were so egregiously wronged by our ancestors. We must examine the original intent of the reservation system; its unintended consequences and flaws; and the preservation of the sovereign rights of the indigenous peoples of our continent going forward.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed in 1988 by Ronald Regan (Davis 4.3.). This act was shaping for compromise between US federal government and Indian tribes. Also, Indian tribes hope to be able to protect their own sovereignty, and the US government was tended to regard gaming under their control. According to the “Casino Roots” by Jessica R. Cattelino mentioned, “it is a powerful image, yet one that renders gaming resources external to indigenous economic and political action. Similarly, studies of casinos "impact" on indigenous communities implicitly render gaming as a capitalist project that acts upon indigenous peoples (1).” The government passed this policy purposed to promote the development of tribal economies and avoid the

This is considering that some tribes have been highly successful with building gambling casinos on their reservation land, and their economic conditions have

In the early 1930s, gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada and casinos began to flourish (Dunstan, 1997). The economic growth in Nevada, especially the city of Las Vegas, has improved tremendously by the creation of casinos. Many people were employed since the operation of casinos requires a huge amount of labor, skill, and expertise. In addition, local retail sales also increased from casinos when gamblers visit the stores to spend their winnings on various items and products (Garrett, 2003). As a result, many state governments began to legalize casinos in order to boost their economies and increase employment. As of today, there are roughly 1500 casinos in the United States and they generate almost 65 billion dollars in revenue (“Facts on U.S Casinos” 2013). However, casinos use immoral methods to achieve this incredible feat of big profit with few government interventions. While the city of Las Vegas becomes more prosperous than before, many citizens lose their fortunes or even lives by the immoral business practices implemented by the casinos. Even though the

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.