October 20, 2004: An Argument Against Indian Gaming
By Ahchie

It is time for an end to the Indian gaming industry. Casinos have long been illegal in California, with the exception of ones run by Indians on reservations. The thought has been that since Indians were wronged so long ago, when the evil white man came through and ravaged their pristine land, that they ought get some type of benefit to make up for it. The answer has been to give Indian tribes a monopoly on casinos in California, along with huge tax breaks. Now, the tribes are making attempts to get closer to urban areas by buying land and getting it certified as a reservation. Future sites are planned for San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento, as well as Disneyland.

The main argument against Indian gaming is that it is not appropriate to give an ethnic group some kind of perk based on how they were treated over a hundred years ago. Essentially it is just time for the Indians to get over it and find a way to be productive members of society. No one is saying they cannot dress up in their colorful costumes and dance around bon fires while praying to a myriad of gods. If they want to live in tepees and smoke peace pipes all day long, they should be able to do that too, as long as they are not expecting the government that they hate so much to provide the land, the tepee, the pipe, and whatever else they need. The bottom line is that it is time to stop playing the victim card.

The other argument is that the gaming doesn’t even benefit the people it purports to be helping. Even if you agree with the concept of giving people something just because they ask, “Where’s my stuff?” Indian gaming doesn’t accomplish the supposed goal of helping out impoverished and beaten down Indians. All it really takes to get an Indian casino is to find someone with the right amount of Indian blood to stand in as a figurehead. This puppet is used to get the land turned into a reservation along with the license to run a casino. The people who benefit are the ones pulling the strings of the figurehead Indian puppet. The people who benefit are the con men who are exploiting the Indians while acting like they really care about them. The ironic thing is that the Indians are being exploited by the same people who claim that they were so brutally exploited way back in the day when buffalo populated the land in abundance.

The best way for Indians to change their condition is to take responsibility for themselves and grow up. Indians should stop whining about how their ancestors were given whiskey in exchange for huge tracks of land. They should stop looking for ways to be offended. Instead of wasting time complaining that a sports team name makes a mockery of the Indian people, they should channel their energies into improving their own condition.

The opportunities are out there. They could make special paid appearances at BMTG functions where they demonstrate their primitive ways. In the sports industry, wiffle has big potential. It is estimated that within the next 15 years, wiffle will overcome softball as the number one recreational sports league. The restaurant industry has been untouched by the Indians. How about having a Native American restaurant chain where they serve buffalo and colorful corn? With just a little creativity, they could make inroads in many other industries. And they could do it all while not depending on the government for anything.

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