by Marlin Bressi

Created on: December 08, 2008   Last Updated: December 28, 2011

Native Americans and casino gambling have become indelibly linked in modern culture, a stereotype that will eventually harm the Native American community rather than help them. The children of today will grow up thinking that gambling is somehow a Native American tradition, and that this once-proud ethnic group has contributed nothing more to society than blackjack tables and slot machines.

It is quite unfortunate that Native Americans have made the decision to stereotype themselves in exchange for money. While some argue that casinos generate much-needed revenue for Native American families, I would argue that it is not worth the price of abandoning their heritage. As an Italian-American, I have seen the same type of stereotyping; it is surprising how many people think that we all have Mafia connections and run pizza parlors. Unfortunately, once we are branded with this stigma, it is virtually impossible to reverse it. For generations to come, every movie Hollywood produces about mobsters will paint Italian-Americans as the bad guys. Consequently, for generations to come, one will not be able to think about casinos and gambling without thinking about Native Americans.

The culture of our Native Americans is something far too sacred to sully with an activity as unsavory as gambling. The same people who held sacred our land and forests and streams have now decided to plow them under, pave them with asphalt, and build a shrine not to the Great Spirit, but to the Almighty Dollar. In some ways, I suppose nothing can be more American than abandoning our heritage in order to make a fast buck; however, it is a shame that future generations will associate Native Americans with gambling rather than stewards of nature and true forefathers of our nation.

Gambling, profitable though it may be, has historically attracted unsavory elements. Living in an area where there is no dearth of Native American casinos, it is not uncommon to pick up the newspaper and read about the criminal acts that often take place in these establishments. Murder, assault, and theft are not uncommon occurrences to an industry like gambling. Since law enforcement is often in short supply on Native American reservations, this makes for a potentially dangerous combination. This is surely not the kind of publicity that Native Americans want or need.

In 1831, during one of the most shameful chapters of American history, President Jackson ordered the relocation of thousands of Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminoles who were living peacefully in the Southeastern United States. Nearly four thousand Native Americans died on this forced evacuation, which continues to be known to this day as the "Trail of Tears". It is a monumental shame that the Trail of Tears ended in a vast asphalt parking lot, a gateway not to a promised land, but to cheap buffets, nickel slots, and roulette wheels.

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