The advent of casinos on Indian reservations has proven to be a less than successful gamble for most American Indians. A few have received a considerable amount of money, but most have gained little if anything from having introduced a Las Vegas-like element onto their lands, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
For many tribes, the gambling revenues provide enough to pay for casino operations but not enough to improve the quality of life. The unemployment rate on reservations with established casinos remained at 54 percent between 1991 and 1997 as many of the casino jobs were filled by non-Indians.
Some tribes that were counting on casinos to usher in a new era of prosperity have not only failed to prosper but have seen their economic conditions worsen.
For example, seven years after the Apache Gold Casino — a $40 million hotel, golf and gambling resort — opened on the reservation near San Carlos, Ariz., the unemployment rate on the reservation climbed from 42 percent to 58 percent. The number of tribal members receiving welfare increased by 20 percent during that same time period.
Overall, there has been an explosion of gambling revenues on Indian reservations — from $100 million in 1988 to $8.6 billion a decade later — but as the AP analysis indicates, the majority of American Indians have benefited little.
Some tribes near major population centers have thrived, but most make just enough to cover the bills.
The AP analysis mirrors a report issued last year by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As this page noted then, it was folly to believe that the institutional problems American Indian communities face due to poor infrastructure, limited investment and shifting federal policies could be overcome by establishing casinos on their lands.
The gambling industry de-empha-sizes all the qualities needed for true financial success. The energies directed at this rather dubious enterprise would be much better served in overseeing the diversification of tribal economies outside the realm of gambling.
There are ways for the federal government to assist American Indians to overcome poverty. Establishing even more casinos obviously isn't one of them.