Indian Gaming Hurts Tribes

The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American tribe in the United States, yet they have struggled for centuries to overcome poverty. People have proposed that casinos can be the solution, however, most Navajo people disagree because of their experiences with addiction. It is easy for a Navajo, who is leaving pay check to pay check, to become addicted to alcohol gambling. Research has shown that "gambling addiction is significantly higher among minorities and lower income individuals." With at least 50 percent of the Navajo people depending on welfare, its easy to get hooked on gambling. Alcohol and gambling provide a temporary escape from all the financial stresses of their lives, yet these things only lead to addiction and more financial loss. Casino adds create a positive look on gambling, but never shows the true dark side of what really happens. "What we don't get is the other side, the dark side- what's happening to the families, people addicted to it, the children." I think it is wrong that the government and media create a positive outlook on gambling through adds, but doesn't show what could really happen.
Casinos claim they will increase employment because they are creating more job opportunities. Indian gambling has skyrocketed, yet employment has not because most positions are held by nontribal persons. "Unemployment on reservations stayed at about 54 percent between 1991 and 1997 despite the casino boom." In reality, the casinos do not benefit the tribes that much, and create even more problems with addiction. Gambling addiction has a powerful impact on Native American families. One family used to manage themselves pretty well until the father won 5, 000 at a casino. Ever since, he's been hooked and cant stop playing. As soon as he gets his paycheck he goes down to the casino and loses it all. The wife has finally given up and filed for a divorce. "What they say is true; gambling breaks up families. He's lost all respect from the kids, and I lost all trust in him." With the father's addiction to gambling, the family can go nowhere and eventually breaks up or becomes homeless. Reading this article, I don't see that much benefits of casinos to the Native American people who already mostly live in poverty.

Cushman, Candi. "Indian Gaming Hurts Tribes." Opposing Viewpoints: Gambling. Ed. David Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 7 Feb. 2010&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010221235&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=deer63488&version=1.0>.