Are American Indians Making A Killing With Casinos?

As a Washington State resident, I was of the impression that Native Americans now had it pretty good. After all, over the past couple of decades, I've seen casinos run by them grow like mushrooms around the state. Seeing how well attended they are and considering how much revenue they were generating from the retired sector gambling there, I figured they had pretty well fixed their issue of poverty. Then, I learned about a new book coming out.

In 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that because reservations were considered a sovereign nation by the federal government they had the right to have bingo halls and gambling casinos on their land independent of any state control.

However, not all reservations are near populated areas where people can easily patronize a casino. So, there are still many tribes who have not been able to take advantage of this 1988 ruling; even today. Now, a new book is coming out by Naomi Shaefer-Riley titled "The New Wounded Knee" reveals information about the progress Native Americans have made under the reservation system set in place in the late 1800s.

Here is a five minute video which briefly points out some of these facts her research has uncovered. It reveals how the vast majority of these people are not so concerned about sports teams' names.