President's Message
I recently had lunch with an old friend and supporter of Futures for Children who lamented that many who support Futures for Children and who encourage friends or family to support the Futures mission are met by the rather cynical view that “because of Indian gaming, all American Indians are rich.” Especially if you have visited the communities served by Futures, you understand that this is the latest myth about American Indians, not unlike the myth that “oil made all Oklahoma Indians rich.” He prevailed on me to provide information and a message that might enable an appropriate response to these misconceptions. This newsletter article is an effort to disavow yet another destructive stereotype added to the unfortunate modern mythology about American Indians – that all American Indians are rich from Indian gaming.
I will start with a quote from a presentation reproduced by the National Indian Gaming Association library. The author states the following:
“It is a fact that two-thirds of American Indian nations do not have gaming.
Among tribes that do have gaming, profits are not evenly distributed because
they depend on access to markets, and most Indian nations are in remote
locations….Pretending Native Americans are rich does not make it so, no matter
how sincerely we may want that to be the case.”
It is not surprising that this article by Katherine A. Spilde, PhD is entitled “Rich Indian” Racism: The Uses of Indian Imagery in the Political Process.
The last sentence of the quote is eloquent in its simplicity – the idea that all American Indians are rich from gaming is a pretense. A Times magazine article from 2002 (12/16/02) points out that of the American Indian nations that do have gaming, 13% of them make 66% of gaming revenue from American Indian gaming. So, let’s do some math. There are 568 American Indian nations in the United States. One third of these nations, or 187 tribal nations (the Time article quotes 183), have gaming. Of those tribal nations that have gaming 13%, or 24 tribal nations, make 66% of the gaming revenue generated by Indian gaming in the US. Based on these sources, this means that there are 381 American Indian nations that have no gaming at all, and another 163 tribal nations that split the 34% of gaming revenue left by the more successful gaming tribes.
The rather obvious conclusion of the Times article is that “…Indian gaming has failed to raise most Native Americans out of poverty.” The pretense that gaming has made all American Indians rich enables people who need an excuse to avoid facing the realities of a very ugly blot on the history of our country – the treatment of its original inhabitants. As my old friend and I concluded, the impact of this pretense on Futures for Children, is to provide an excuse to avoid facing the reality of the poverty found in the communities we serve. It is also an effort by people to be let “off the hook” to support a program whose self help philosophy goes right to heart of the efforts of American Indian people to empower themselves through education and turn back the results of centuries of oppression.
So, my friends, I present the case to you, once again, that poverty is still the reality faced by most of the American Indian people in this country. Poverty is the reality for most of the communities served by Futures for Children. All of us in the circle of Futures for Children – mentors, students, donors, families, volunteers, project coaches, facilitators, and staff – believe that we can improve the life of American Indian children through education and training. We are inspired by the American Indian young people who face the reality of poverty, and still believe in their ability to improve life for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Thank you for your support of Futures for Children. You have chosen to disregard the myth that all American Indians have been made rich by Indian gaming. You have reached out to American Indian children and families over many miles to give of your time and resources. You have ventured outside your own reality and personal comfort zone to visit and face the reality of life for American Indians in part of this country. I hope this information will equip you to be even better ambassadors for Futures for Children. I am forever grateful.
