Native Americans Gambling On Success: Entrepreneurship As A Mixed Blessing

Native Americans—the indigenous peoples of the US—often live in poverty and despair, whether on federally established reservations or in urban centres. Now, new enterprises are providing hope for a better life. Among these are gambling and hospitality. Journalist Savita Iyer examines the extent to which Native Americans have benefited from such enterprises, and why more and better education is needed to improve their lot.

Native Americans today face grinding poverty and soaring unemployment. Life on the reservations where many of them live is hard—besides poverty, they face 50 to 80 per cent unemployment and conditions which can engender demoralization, substance abuse, violence and crime.

A move to urban centres in the 1950s and 1960s did little to improve matters. Says C. Matthew Snipp, a Stanford University sociologist, "Basically, [the relocation] took a group of people with relatively few skills and put them in large cities where they were completely out of place." 

Still, some Native American communities are finding new sources of income in private enterprise. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Act of 1975 - which granted more autonomy to tribal governments to manage their own affairs—encouraged many tribes to turn toward private enterprise. These businesses may include trailer parks or manufacturing and selling tobacco products. Now, gaming has become the most lucrative. 

Today, Native American gaming is a US$16 billion industry—amounting to a hefty 36% of national gaming revenue. The success of casinos such as the Connecticut-based Foxwoods casino, owned by the Mashuntucket Pequot tribes, or the Mohegan tribe's Mohegan Sun casino, has been instrumental in creating new jobs for tribal members and raising revenue for health care, education and further business ventures.

In California, where revenues from Indian gaming reached around U.S. $5 billion last year, casinos are providing jobs in an otherwise depressed job market—not just for Native Americans, but for other minorities as well. The industry continues to boom as tribes expand casino offerings and open hotels, resorts and spas.

Still, challenges remain. Despite strict rules on how gaming revenues are spent and tax breaks, the business hasn't been a panacea for unemployment and poverty. The remote location of many tribes and their gaming enterprises doesn't provide access to a broad client base, and the benefits of gaming revenue aren't widespread since only a few gaming enterprises—19%—account for 70% of total Native American gaming revenues. 

Jerry Lamb, a member of the Gros Ventre tribe of Montana, and Executive Director of American Indian Business Leaders (AIBL) says private enterprise may be the only way forward. Developing new sources of revenue isn't easy, Lamb says, but may be the only way to create both revenue and employment. Lamb also believes the only way for Native Americans to continue expanding business opportunities is through more and better education. 

Says Lamb, "We want our members to get a good education and to acquire solid skills in order to direct business and lead our tribes forward, while fostering our cultural heritage and preserving our community."

The International Labour Organization is the UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. It was founded in 1919 and is the only surviving major creation of the Treaty of Versailles which brought the League of Nations into being and it became the first specialized agency of the UN in 1946.