Panelists discuss benefits, drawbacks of Indian gaming
Casino gambling — and the money it generates — acts as a catalyst, allowing Native tribes to diversify their economies and help one another rebuild their communities, some members of a panel said Saturday. But not all panelists agreed.
"What we see through Indian gaming is having communities able to rebuild. They've reached out to neighboring communities, created jobs. There's been tremendous generosity among tribes,'' said Mark Van Norman, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association.
Van Norman was part of a five-member panel that took part in a televised town hall discussion about the future of the $21 billion business.
Others on the panel offered cautionary notes: about the dangers caused by the proliferation of casinos on and off the reservation, and of the social costs involved.
Ernie Goss, Creighton University economics professor, said commercial casinos built off reservations will undermine those in Indian Country, as happened in Winnebago when casinos were opened in Council Bluffs, he said.
"My concern with casinos is the proliferation we're seeing,'' he said. Tribes should consider reaching agreements with states that could benefit both, he said.
In several states, tribal governments have entered into compacts in which tribes retain exclusive rights to casino gambling in exchange for sharing a percentage of the revenue with the states.
The Rev. Lauren Eckdahl, a United Methodist minister who helped successfully oppose several gambling initiatives in Nebraska, said the social costs of gambling addiction outweigh the benefits.
Ekdahl, a longtime Lincoln minister recently reassigned as a district superintendent in western Nebraska, said he looks at the cost in human terms.
"It's the official position of the church that gambling is one of the evils of society,'' he said. "(It) is an attempt to extort money by false pretense.''
Several members of the panel bristled at Ekdahl's comments, suggesting he should not impose the values of his church upon Natives and questioning efforts of white society to fight for good health care and other tribal issues.
"Some things in history tell us what our values are,'' said J. Kurt Lugar, executive director of the Great Plains Indian Gaming Association. "It may be against your values but not necessarily against ours.''
Charlene Alden, gaming manager of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, said the tribe has started its own gambling addiction programs to help those who need it.
What gambling did was create a revenue source that allows tribes to rise out of poverty, Alden said.
When tribes first proposed building casinos, the local banks weren't interested, Lugar said. Business interests in Las Vegas, however, saw the potential.
"Greed overrides prejudice in Las Vegas,'' he said.
Once Indian casinos succeeded, major banks began opening their doors to tribes for the first time.
"What gambling did was it brought the financial institutions to town,'' Lugar said.
The money has allowed tribes to diversify, starting businesses in many areas, several panelists said.
Veronica Tiller, a historian who compiled economic profiles on hundreds of tribes, said she believes gaming has had a positive influence.
"It's reached into the soul of Indian Country, to other sections of tribal economy that existed before gaming,'' said Tiller, who was not a panelist but spoke during the discussion. "Those have all been boosted by gaming.''
Gambling revenue has helped to promote the arts and cultural centers, as well as efforts to preserve tribal languages, she said.
Now, there are efforts to create networks so the wealthier tribes can assist the poorer, often more rural ones, Van Norman said.
Lugar said similar collaborations are on the horizon.
"Tribal joint ventures are what's next,'' he said.
Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com.
If you want to watch
The town hall meeting on the future of Indian gaming was taped Saturday at the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications studios before a live audience during the Native American Journalists Association's 21st Annual Convention in Lincoln.
The discussion will be broadcast on NET 1 at 8 p.m. Sept. 14 and again at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
"What we see through Indian gaming is having communities able to rebuild. They've reached out to neighboring communities, created jobs. There's been tremendous generosity among tribes,'' said Mark Van Norman, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association.
Van Norman was part of a five-member panel that took part in a televised town hall discussion about the future of the $21 billion business.
Others on the panel offered cautionary notes: about the dangers caused by the proliferation of casinos on and off the reservation, and of the social costs involved.
Ernie Goss, Creighton University economics professor, said commercial casinos built off reservations will undermine those in Indian Country, as happened in Winnebago when casinos were opened in Council Bluffs, he said.
"My concern with casinos is the proliferation we're seeing,'' he said. Tribes should consider reaching agreements with states that could benefit both, he said.
In several states, tribal governments have entered into compacts in which tribes retain exclusive rights to casino gambling in exchange for sharing a percentage of the revenue with the states.
The Rev. Lauren Eckdahl, a United Methodist minister who helped successfully oppose several gambling initiatives in Nebraska, said the social costs of gambling addiction outweigh the benefits.
Ekdahl, a longtime Lincoln minister recently reassigned as a district superintendent in western Nebraska, said he looks at the cost in human terms.
"It's the official position of the church that gambling is one of the evils of society,'' he said. "(It) is an attempt to extort money by false pretense.''
Several members of the panel bristled at Ekdahl's comments, suggesting he should not impose the values of his church upon Natives and questioning efforts of white society to fight for good health care and other tribal issues.
"Some things in history tell us what our values are,'' said J. Kurt Lugar, executive director of the Great Plains Indian Gaming Association. "It may be against your values but not necessarily against ours.''
Charlene Alden, gaming manager of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, said the tribe has started its own gambling addiction programs to help those who need it.
What gambling did was create a revenue source that allows tribes to rise out of poverty, Alden said.
When tribes first proposed building casinos, the local banks weren't interested, Lugar said. Business interests in Las Vegas, however, saw the potential.
"Greed overrides prejudice in Las Vegas,'' he said.
Once Indian casinos succeeded, major banks began opening their doors to tribes for the first time.
"What gambling did was it brought the financial institutions to town,'' Lugar said.
The money has allowed tribes to diversify, starting businesses in many areas, several panelists said.
Veronica Tiller, a historian who compiled economic profiles on hundreds of tribes, said she believes gaming has had a positive influence.
"It's reached into the soul of Indian Country, to other sections of tribal economy that existed before gaming,'' said Tiller, who was not a panelist but spoke during the discussion. "Those have all been boosted by gaming.''
Gambling revenue has helped to promote the arts and cultural centers, as well as efforts to preserve tribal languages, she said.
Now, there are efforts to create networks so the wealthier tribes can assist the poorer, often more rural ones, Van Norman said.
Lugar said similar collaborations are on the horizon.
"Tribal joint ventures are what's next,'' he said.
Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com.
If you want to watch
The town hall meeting on the future of Indian gaming was taped Saturday at the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications studios before a live audience during the Native American Journalists Association's 21st Annual Convention in Lincoln.
The discussion will be broadcast on NET 1 at 8 p.m. Sept. 14 and again at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
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