Indian Gaming just isn’t the same as commercial gaming. It wasn’t started for the same reasons, it doesn’t exist for the same reasons, and it operates with a uniquely different mission statement than the 460 commercial casinos found in this country. Most importantly, Indian Gaming delivers different results. Indian Gaming means many things to many people; however, in Indian Country I would have to say it is tied closely to empowering tribal tradition.
I guess the best way to put it is that the gaming part of Indian Gaming serves to raise up the Indian part of Indian Gaming. Native American peoples have suffered many wrongs over the past 200 years. They were forced to live in impoverished areas, received fewer opportunities than most in this country, and there were direct attacks on their cultural practices. Social ills that came from these hardships were destructive to Indian people, their culture and their way of life. Yet throughout all the years, there were great Indian leaders who understood the importance of tribal heritage and tradition. They worked hard at passing it on through the generations. Today, tradition and heritage are tightly woven into the fabric of Native American culture.
For 20 years, the National Indian Gaming Association has been standing up for the sovereign rights of tribes to conduct economic development through gaming. Paramount to this fight is the issue of sovereignty. This one word is key to the historic struggle of Native Americans. It means to have and exercise the exclusive right to have complete control over an area of governance or people.
Sovereignty constitutes a true state of law and is applicable and enforceable, even when against the political will of the nation, as long as not altered by constitutional procedure. Strictly speaking, any deviation from this principle constitutes a revolution or a coup d’état, regardless of the intentions. Yet, determining whether an entity is sovereign is not an exact science. This is usually a matter of diplomatic dispute.
When many folks hear the term tribal sovereignty, they assume it’s something that either the tribes or the government proclaimed in the past hundred years or so. It’s not. The concept of sovereign rule was practiced by tribes hundreds of years before the first white man set foot on this continent. This is a right they had held for generations before the first European settlers arrived. In this sense it is a tradition — one cherished and revered by native peoples.
Much has changed during the 23 years that NIGA has been fighting for the rights of tribes. Revenues from Indian Gaming have built hospitals and schools. College scholarship funds have been created. Modest or absent municipal infrastructures have been improved. And Indian-owned businesses of all kinds have been created through tribal government-funded economic development. It’s empowering the self-determination of the First Americans, and they deserve it.
While I do say that Tribal Gaming is different from commercial gaming, please understand that they do share a common bond. They both understand the importance of a well-regulated gaming environment. They both see the need for responsible gaming programs. They also both face unfair attacks from political and private anti-gaming forces, and are both viewed as potentially lucrative sources of tax revenue by state and federal governments that sometimes go too far. In these areas, Tribal Gaming and commercial gaming interests stand tall together as shown by the cover of this month’s Casino Lawyer magazine.
So join me in one of my traditions: visiting the Indian Gaming ’08 Trade Show & Convention later this month in San Diego.
Peter E. Mead
Publisher,
Casino Enterprise Management