The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

In February 2015, the talk at Tulalip Resort Casino north of Seattle was all about marijuana. The Justice Department had released a memo that seemed to provide a pathway for tribes to get into the pot business “as a manifestation of tribal sovereignty” (363). Tulalip comprises separate tribes who came together to form a new community. For them, marijuana seemed to offer the key to prosperity. For some, it also may have offered the key to problems rampant on the reservation, such as heroin addiction, sexual abuse, and domestic violence.

Though tribes and tribal members have branched out into various business ventures over the last several decades, including the sale of fireworks, the casino is the parent of all tribal industry. Currently, 238 tribes “own and run gaming operations” (364). Some casino-owning tribes pay tribal members a portion of their profits directly, while others use the revenue as a tax base. Revenue from casinos has been used to open museums and to expand tribal schools. Additionally, tribal casinos do not pay corporate taxes, but they do pay payroll taxes.

Despite their ability to retain relative autonomy, states and the federal government have attempted to gain a stake in tribal gambling. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which established three classes of gambling (casino gaming was in Class III) and gave the FBI “jurisdiction over tribal gaming” (372).