One of the discussions we didn't get around to (a Cornell Adult University trip "full"? Usually!) was the one about the casinos run on tribal nations lands.
I'm no expert, but here are some observations I picked up on an very enjoyable trip with the American Indian College Fund. (More on the Fund in a moment!)
If you share my sardonic sense of humor, it is amusing that the Indians have been able to benefit in one way by their special status on the reservations. Given all the special ways they've been disadvantaged by reservation life, etc, it is only "fair" that they win once. I'd love to shake the hand of the person who first realized "Wait a minute... US law doesn't operate here... so..."
That having been said, that's about all that is funny.
Yes, there are a few places where reservation casinos have been good for the right people.... a very few. And many instances where things have not gone so well. I was delighted to learn that the Makah seem to be making good money from their casino.
Think about it. Where are reservations sited? In the back of beyond, on land no one wanted. The Mashantuckets and Mohegans, in Connecticut, were very lucky to have wealthy neighbors wanting to lose money. Few tribes are so favorably cited.
Even if your tribal lands are accessible to clients, who makes the money? In some cases, poorly structured deals were signed, and the money is made by the subcontractor, not the enrolled members of the tribe.
Many reservation communities are dirt poor. And many people with gambling addictions come from the impoverished sector of society. When you have so little, taking a fling is so attractive. So some Indian casinos cost the tribe much more than they return.
Why don't the successful tribes share their success with the others? Does France give (significant) money to Yugoslavia? The Navaho and the Pequots, for example, are different nations. (Anyway, successful tribes do share. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Sioux Community has given over $1,500,000 to the American Indian College Fund, which helps students from a wide diversity of nations. (I do not know the source of the Shakopee Mdewakantons' wealth.))
So don't say that Indians are "okay" because of "all the money from the casinos", please.
Returning to the American Indian College Fund for a moment....
I had a great trip with them through Montana. It was part holiday, part learn about the work of the fund. We visited a number of reservations.
Remember the run down collection of trailers I pointed out, near the well tended school/ municipal buildings I also pointed out?
The College Fund is a much about supporting the "Indian Colleges" (more on that in a moment) as about supporting individual students... who, by the way, tend not to be traditional students. (I remember one student I met who decided that she'd go back to school to pick up some qualifications since as her three kids were now all in elementary school, she had some extra time on her hands. I wish I managed my time so well!)
Almost every time we arrived at a new college, the same pattern played out. First: Hours across beautiful but desolate, inhospitable wastelands. Then we'd arrive on the edge of "town"... run down like the trailer camp I pointed out. And then you would see some buildings which were clearly the pride of the community: Well tended, attractively decorated, etc. They weren't just "the college", but also a center for the community. And paid for, in part, by the people who support AICF.
The colleges work. They give the students skills and opportunities. (Nursing qualifications, for example.) They give the community much needed facilities like meeting rooms. Some run elementary schools alongside the tertiary education.
Remember the warm welcome and good lunch we were given by the people of the Makah nation?
TK Boyd 09/10. Click here to contact him.
(Participants: Use eddress on CAU list, please- better!)
Speech over! Here are links back to the CAU Pacific Northwest trip pages....First Page, and Second Page.
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