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As any casual
student of American history knows, the Native Americans
were given the shaft by the colonizers of the United States.
The government broke practically every treaty it made with
the tribes that had inhabited this land for centuries and
kept it in its pristine condition. Finally, the Indians
were shunted about, with whole nations, such as the Cherokees,
being moved from North Carolina to Oklahoma and settled
there against their will, dumped on inhospitable land.
The same thing happened to the western tribes, such as the
Navajos and the Apaches. They were set down in wretched
reservations where no one else wanted to live, in the arid
plains and deserts of Western America. The Native Americans
became second-class citizens, prone to disease, alcoholism,
and extreme poverty. By the laws of the land, they were
separate and apart from American society, with their own
laws and police. In many ways they ruled themselves and
were not subject to the laws of the state or nation in which
they lived. For decades these rules worked against them;
they were left to their own devices, scratching out an existence
on the Godforsaken lands they occupied.
Then, in 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act, which legalized gaming on Native American owned land.
Suddenly, Native Americans' apartness had a monetary value.
They weren't subject to the gambling restrictions the states
imposed on their ordinary citizens. They could have gambling
on their lands and reservations and entice the same citizens
who ordinarily avoided them into parting with their monies.
All they had to do was open up their lands to gambling enterprises.
And this the Native Americans have done with a vengeance.
Let’s give a partial roll call of the states that have some
form of Indian gaming: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut,
Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota,
Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The tables have turned.
Native Americans, once one of the most impoverished minorities
in America, now have some of the most affluent citizens.
To give an example-in Connecticut, a small tribe, once thought
to be extinct, owns the most profitable casino in the world,
the Fox woods High Stakes Bingo and Casino. They are the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. |
