Gambling And Survival In Native North America

"The Pequots have found success at their southeastern Connecticut casino in spite of the odds. But in considering their story, Paul Pasquaretta shifts the focus from casinos to the political struggles that have marked the long history of indigenous-colonial relations.

The cards are turned, the chips are raked. In casinos all over the country, Native Americans are making money and reclaiming power. But the games are by no means confined to the tables, as the Mashantucket Pequots can attest. Although Anglo-Americans have attempted to undermine Pequot sovereignty for centuries, these Native Americans have developed a strategy of survival in order to maintain their sense of peoplehood—a resiliency that has vexed outsiders, from English settlers to Donald Trump. The Pequots have found success at their southeastern Connecticut casino in spite of the odds. But in considering their story, Paul Pasquaretta shifts the focus from casinos to the political struggles that have marked the long history of indigenous-colonial relations. Viewing the survival of Native communities in the face of genocide and forced assimilation as a high-stakes game of chance, he examines gambling metaphors in historical and literary contexts to reveal strategies employed by several tribes as they participate in various "games" with white society--whether land re-acquisition, political positioning, or resistance to outside dominance. Through a comparative analysis of texts spanning four centuries—colonial war narratives, nineteenth-century romance fiction, tribal memorials, Native American novels—Pasquaretta provides a framework for understanding Indian-white relations and the role of "chance" in the realm of colonialism. He explores two intertwining themes: the survival of indigenous peoples in the face of the European invasion of North America and the ongoing contest of Natives and newcomers that has transpired in the marketplace, on the battlefield, and in the courts. In so doing, he considers the impact of reservation gambling on the development of contemporary tribal communities and the role of traditional Indian gambling practices and stories in the survival of indigenous cultural traditions. Gambling and Survival in Native North America is a wide-ranging book that shows how Native Americans have become active participants in their own survival despite the popular belief that Indian tribes, as "conquered peoples," have been rendered helpless for over a century. Working within a system devised to confine and even destroy them, they have found ways to remain in the game—and, against all odds, have learned to play it well.

Both glamorous and scandalous, the Native American casino and gaming industry has attracted the American public's attention to life on reservations to an unprecedented degree. At the same time, other tribal public venues, such as museums and powwows, have gained in popularity among non-Native audiences and become sites of education and performance. With the visibility, money, and political access gained through these reservation-owned businesses and cultural centers, individual tribes have taken great strides in redefining their public images to off-reservation audiences. In Public Native America, Mary Lawlor explores the process of tribal self-definition. Focusing on architectural and interior designs, as well as performance styles, she reveals how a complex and often surprising cultural dynamic is created when Native Americans create lavish displays for the public's participation and consumption. At first glance, the use of ostentatious and stylized decor, especially in gambling establishments, is puzzling.

The first book ever to examine Indian gaming myths on a continental scale, "Gambler Way" reveals that not only was gamblinguin practice as well as in mythucommon to nearly all of the indigenous peoples of North America, but also that the games and stories were universally part of the sacred lore and rituals of the tribes. Every area from the subarctic to the Southwest and parts of Mexico is covered. Games and their sometimes lethal stakes are described in detail, along with their place in the sacred world-view of each people. The result is a fascinating and unique look at the way humans strive to recognize a link between divine intent and chance. Based on massive research in historical and archaeological records, "Gambler Way" is not only a fascinating contribution to the study of ancient Native American culture, but it also provides valuable context for the current controversies surrounding Indian-run casinos.

It's an oft-told story of Native Americans: conquered by invading white Europeans, deprived of their land and forced to live on scattered reservation ghettos, reduced to lives of poverty and endemic social problems. But there is another side to that story. It's a story, first, of their incredible resilience in decades of separation and isolation. But it is also a story of wars among native tribes, of the taking of slaves, the building of native empires, and then, in the wake of their defeat by the Europeans, dependence on government and now-most recently-on the riches of casino gambling. Now, some native leaders contend that these dependencies may be a major cause of their alcoholism, suicides, domestic violence, child neglect, and so many other problems.Journalist Joe Rigert tells that unusual story of the bitter fruits of a dependence that leads to a lack of self worth and initiative, that is causing more and more natives to flee their reservations to live in the mainstream of society, seeking jobs and a better life. In this barely noticed migration, two-thirds of the natives have moved to the cities, rivaling the long-ago migration of black Americans from the South to the North.Rigert's account focuses on the small Klamath Tribes of Oregon, independent for a while and now dependent again, by their choice, on government benefits, and by comparison, the Mdewakanton Sioux of Minnesota, a tribe also suffering from dependency, in their case dependence on casino gambling that makes them all millionaires who don't need to work, and don't work, to their own tragic detriment. Rigert shows how the problems of these two tribes are indicative of the social pathology, as a native scholar put it, found among so many members of the 560 tribes of America. It's a seminal story never told before.

Casino games and traditional card games have rich and idiosyncratic histories, complex subcultures and player practices, and facilitate the flow of billions of dollars each year through casinos and card rooms, and between professional players and amateurs. They have nevertheless been overlooked by game scholars due to the negative ethical weight of “gambling” – with such games pathologized and labelled as deviance or mental illness, few look beyond to unpick the games, their players, and their communities. The Casino, Card and Betting Game Reader offers 25 chapters studying the communities playing these games, the distinctive cultures and practices that have emerged around them, their activities and beliefs and interpersonal relationships, and how these games influence – both positively and negatively – the lives and careers of millions of game players around the world. It is the first of a new series of edited collections, Play Beyond the Computer, dedicated to exploring the play of games beyond computers and games consoles.