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Updated Saturday, June 3, 2000
For generations, many Indian reservations have been worse than some third-world countries, despite decades of federal assistance, but fortunes are now changing for the better — owing literally to a roll of the dice.
Native Americans have struck gold in gambling; Indian casino resorts have become one of America's most booming businesses.
Last year, Indian casinos generated nearly $10 billion in revenue nationwide, and some tribes who are adding hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and other businesses to complement the casinos are bringing in even more money. Indian nations are flush with new wealth, allowing them not only to improve life on the reservation but to assert their independence from the federal government like never before.
"You can look at (improvements in) the schools. You can look at the housing. You can look at the ability to care for the seniors," said Phil Ziegler of the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, Wash., just south of Seattle, one of the nation's most successful Indian casinos.
You can also look at the dramatic reversal in unemployment, which has traditionally been a scourge on the community. The Indian gambling industry has fueled new growth, and tribal leaders point out that the jobs are ones that Indian nations have created themselves.
"The difference between 'with the casino' vs. 'without the casino' is the difference between a tribal government with the ability to generate its own jobs and resources, and a tribal government that would be reliant on the federal government," explained Muckleshoot Tribe spokesman Michael Moran.
Luck Not Free of Controversy
But the reversal of fortune has sparked some controversy. Native American tribes were recognized as sovereign states beginning with Supreme Court decisions in the 1830s, with their revenues unfettered by most local taxes and regulations. With tribes largely dependent on federal government assistance, their status as independent nations has been of little concern — until now.
The influx of wealth has tribes flexing their sovereign muscles like never before — and some members of Congress question how tribes are using their new-found wealth in the political arena.
In the last presidential election, tribes donated more than $2 million to political campaigns, favoring Democrats, but recently tending toward a more bipartisan strategy.
The clout could make the federal funding allocated to tribes a hot potato in the fall elections, as some in Congress believe tribes getting rich from private enterprise should wean themselves off of government assistance. The tribes view federal subsidies as an entitlement guaranteed by treaties established decades ago, and they now have the money to lobby their cause.
"Neither political party can solve their problems," said California State Assemblyman Jim Battin, R-Palm Springs, "but either party can slow them up and they needed a bipartisan effort."
For generations, many Indian reservations have been worse than some third-world countries, despite decades of federal assistance, but fortunes are now changing for the better — owing literally to a roll of the dice.
Native Americans have struck gold in gambling; Indian casino resorts have become one of America's most booming businesses.
Last year, Indian casinos generated nearly $10 billion in revenue nationwide, and some tribes who are adding hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and other businesses to complement the casinos are bringing in even more money. Indian nations are flush with new wealth, allowing them not only to improve life on the reservation but to assert their independence from the federal government like never before.
"You can look at (improvements in) the schools. You can look at the housing. You can look at the ability to care for the seniors," said Phil Ziegler of the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, Wash., just south of Seattle, one of the nation's most successful Indian casinos.
You can also look at the dramatic reversal in unemployment, which has traditionally been a scourge on the community. The Indian gambling industry has fueled new growth, and tribal leaders point out that the jobs are ones that Indian nations have created themselves.
"The difference between 'with the casino' vs. 'without the casino' is the difference between a tribal government with the ability to generate its own jobs and resources, and a tribal government that would be reliant on the federal government," explained Muckleshoot Tribe spokesman Michael Moran.
Luck Not Free of Controversy
But the reversal of fortune has sparked some controversy. Native American tribes were recognized as sovereign states beginning with Supreme Court decisions in the 1830s, with their revenues unfettered by most local taxes and regulations. With tribes largely dependent on federal government assistance, their status as independent nations has been of little concern — until now.
The influx of wealth has tribes flexing their sovereign muscles like never before — and some members of Congress question how tribes are using their new-found wealth in the political arena.
In the last presidential election, tribes donated more than $2 million to political campaigns, favoring Democrats, but recently tending toward a more bipartisan strategy.
The clout could make the federal funding allocated to tribes a hot potato in the fall elections, as some in Congress believe tribes getting rich from private enterprise should wean themselves off of government assistance. The tribes view federal subsidies as an entitlement guaranteed by treaties established decades ago, and they now have the money to lobby their cause.
"Neither political party can solve their problems," said California State Assemblyman Jim Battin, R-Palm Springs, "but either party can slow them up and they needed a bipartisan effort."