Native American Casinos
 

In Oklahoma, this is starting to become a pretty major issue with some folks. Native American run Casinos have really hit horse tracks, etc. in the pocketbook. Horse tracks are traditionally a huge source of tax revenue while NA Casinos do pay taxes according to current compacts but they're at like half the rate of what a non NA business would have to pay. They also have games that the horse tracks can't have.

What do ya'll think of these institutions? Are they great for the tribes or are they a detriment to rural American where they are usually located?

I live in Connecticut, home of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. I've never actually been to either. (I'm not a gambler.) They are both gigantic complexes (Foxwoods especially) and people come by the busload from all over the Northeast.

From what I've seen, it's good for the tribes, and it's good because it creates jobs for both Native Americans and non-Native Americans in the area. I don't think betting on horses is such a huge revenue generator around here... but like I said, I'm not a gambler, so I'm not sure.

If anything, they're stealing revenue from Atlantic City... and who cares about Jersey anyway? j/k :p

who cares if they are stealing revenue from that dump? we stole all their land.

That's kinda how I feel.

The thing that isn't cool is when people who are like 1/64 NA get their hands in the pot. I mean, come on.

I work on a reservation, a reservation that has a casino. I think that the NAs that are truly "getting rich" off the casinos are on the smaller reservations or on the reservations back east. Pine Ridge, the rez i work on, and nearby Rosebud both have casinos, yet in both instances the majority of Lakota still live in poverty.

As far as the 1/64th thing. The number of "pure" native americans is ever decreasing as tribal members leave the rez for better opportunities. What matters more than your blood is whether you're a registered member of the tribe. I'm about 1/32, but when i tell people my mother's maiden name, Coats, they know i'm Lakota because my relatives have been tribal members for years. My sister and i are BOTH tribal members, as my mom petitioned for our memberships. Course, i'm not seeing any casino revenues :)

Kitso
KS 361

Yah, I think that's more what I meant. If you're 100% NA and you've gone all your life without acknowledging your heritage, and then when the casino $$$ comes along you want to shout it from the rooftops, booooo on you.

p.s. Are you stopping in Pgh this weekend?

They are building a resort style casino out by where my Dad lives. (North of Tulsa) I love casinos. And I never go out to Shreveport. I will probably visit my Dad a bit more often. ;)

But I do feel bad. This is Oklahoma, these are not rich communities. There are a minority of well off individuals in these smaller towns. Poor people with a predisposition to drinking and gambling problems are only going to sink lower with the influx of all these casinos. I have to wonder if these casinos are going to truly benefit the Native American population in these communities. :(

I think in Oklahoma the situation kind of stinks. NA Casino money is finding its way into places it really shouldn't go. I attended (as a member of the media) Brad Henry's victory/watch party (newly elected OK governor, Democrat). I can tell you that a very good number of NA contributors were there. Very rich folks by the way they were dressed.

It seems really crooked to me that a few folks NA and even non NA's are getting rich while the majority of the tribe lives in poverty, not having close to the number of opportunities their rich leaders do.

Some tribes opt to send out paychecks to all on their roles. Others put the money into development on the reservations. I'm for anything that gives people the opportunity to improve their lives, I'm just not convinced that these operations are doing more good than harm.

I really dislike them. I grew up in an area that I thought would remain untouched, so to speak, for at least another 100 years. Then the casino opened up, and all hell breaks loose. Traffic is unbearable. A family friend of ours was killed by a gambler driving home. What used to be a relatively safe, two-lane highway has now been designated as a "safety corridor" because of the higher rate of accidents caused by all the casino traffic. The casino has also successfully lobbied to have the main highway raised by (I forget the exact number - 5 or 10?) X feet so that the gamblers can still make it up to the casino when it floods. The only problem is this will cause even more flooding in the farmers' fields, and there will probably be some broken axles and farm implements resulting from pulling onto the newly-raised road.

I am very happy for the Wintun people. My dad said they were so dirt poor when he was growing up that the kids he knew didn't even have shoes. Now they are wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. It's too bad that their wealth had to come at the expense of the tranquility of the place where I grew up.

Let's be realistic for a moment - sooner or later, each rural settlement will be overrun by the city folks. That's undeniable. However, I can guarantee that the majority of the folks who live in those rural areas would much rather have it happen later, not sooner.

I think you can guess what I have to say on the matter - Casinos are a detriment to rural areas. If the gov't is going to allow the Indians to build casinos in rural areas, then the gov't should use their right of eminent domain to give the Indians a reservation off of a major highway equipped to handle all of the traffic and congestion. I don't know if the Indians consider their current reservations as sacred, but they must not be too worried about it because they're paving over everything with parking garages, restaurants, and luxury homes.

I'll stop now...

[EDIT]
They're both!
[/EDIT]

These casinos are everywhere out here. The only time I ever really go to one is for a concert. They are limited in the type of games that they can have so I prefer the drive to Nevada to gamble. I don't see a problem with them. The two that I am most familiar with do a lot of good for their local communities, not just the NA community.

The country should get rid of Indian casinos right now and supply a cash grant to the people and provide services for every damn wrong they've done to them and still do to them.

-Rudey
--Case closed.

Ah yes, more government involvement. That's the answer!

They have their own governments and usually cash-strapped governments can't provide such things as education and healthcare. I guess we could lower government involvement.

People without any education could educate their children. And people operating without any government oversight or medical education provided through government grants and usually occuring in government funded hospitals can provide their healthcare.

-Rudey

The already do. If those tribes were treaty tribes. The Oglala Lakota signed a treaty. The people out here get government checks and commodities every month. They get free health care at Indian Health Services. The school where i work is a Indian grant school, meaning that the money for our budget comes from the federal government. So, basically, y'all's taxes are going to pay me to sit here and post on GC ;)

Seriously though, Rudey, that is not the answer. The people up here "claim" themselves as a soverign nation. They have their own goverment, Tribal police have authority over any SD authorities. Basically, they are "independant" from America, but at the same time, they are nothing more than wards of the state.

What would benefit these people a whole hell of a lot more is if GM, Ford or some other big company put a manufacturing plant here on the Rez, in return for tax breaks, and the government lessened their handouts. Right now, these people live from check to check, with little to no motivation to get and hold a real job.

hand-outs is not the answer. Motivation to work is.

Kitso
KS 361 times the people don't want to hear that, but it's true

It's a big bad secret but politicians can bring in manufacturing plants, sports teams, financial firms and it hurts tax payers...they could achieve the same and better if they just did a transfer of money.

-Rudey
--It's just a trick. Every economist knows it.