Indian Gaming
Indian Gaming
Tribal government gaming on Indian lands is significantly changing life for many of the more than 4.1 million American Indians in the United States. It has proven to be there first and most effective tool for economic development on sovereign, Tribal lands. Gaming generates a few billion dollars in much needed Tribal government revenue annually to provide essential government services to hundreds of thousands of Native Americans. It is helping Indian nations build strong and diversified economies. Gaming is creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for reservations Indians and neighboring non-Indians. Gaming has allowed many Tribes to economically support themselves, contributing to the prosperity of those on and off the reservations, generating Federal, State and local taxes, employment and economic development in nearby counties (Mason, 4). Gaming has given Tribal leaders the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and self-confidence needed to build strong Tribal governments and, for the first time in generations, provide for the health, education and welfare of their people. It has restored to American Indians a sense of pride and self-respect. It is helping Indians recapture their past, preserve their culture and ensure their future (Grinde, 169). According to Tribal- State Compacts between the State of California and the California Gaming Tribes, "American Indians are the original peoples of the United States, endowed with inherent rights of sovereignty and self-governance. The United States acknowledges the sovereign status of Indian Tribes in both the Treaty Clause and the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Pursuant to the constitutional plan, the United States entered into more than 300 Indian treaties that guarantee Tribal rights of self-government." The first Indian treaty, entered into in 1787 with the Delaware Nation, created a vitally important military alliance during the Revolutionary War. The
Tribal government gaming on Indian lands is significantly changing life for many of the more than 4.1 million American Indians in the United States. It has proven to be there first and most effective tool for economic development on sovereign, Tribal lands. Gaming generates a few billion dollars in much needed Tribal government revenue annually to provide essential government services to hundreds of thousands of Native Americans. It is helping Indian nations build strong and diversified economies. Gaming is creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for reservations Indians and neighboring non-Indians. Gaming has allowed many Tribes to economically support themselves, contributing to the prosperity of those on and off the reservations, generating Federal, State and local taxes, employment and economic development in nearby counties (Mason, 4). Gaming has given Tribal leaders the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and self-confidence needed to build strong Tribal governments and, for the first time in generations, provide for the health, education and welfare of their people. It has restored to American Indians a sense of pride and self-respect. It is helping Indians recapture their past, preserve their culture and ensure their future (Grinde, 169). According to Tribal- State Compacts between the State of California and the California Gaming Tribes, "American Indians are the original peoples of the United States, endowed with inherent rights of sovereignty and self-governance. The United States acknowledges the sovereign status of Indian Tribes in both the Treaty Clause and the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Pursuant to the constitutional plan, the United States entered into more than 300 Indian treaties that guarantee Tribal rights of self-government." The first Indian treaty, entered into in 1787 with the Delaware Nation, created a vitally important military alliance during the Revolutionary War. The