ECONOMIC ISSUES AND NATIVE AMERICAN GAMING WILLIAM N. THOMPSON arlier this year or is occurring? What Professor Gary indicators exist to E Anders of measure the strength Arizona State of tribal govern- University and I ments? And were signed a contract with there measures of the University of organized crime Nevada Press to write activity when the Act a book on Native was passed which American gaming. can be used as Our intention is to benchmarks for assess the ten year determining the impacts of the passage effectiveness of the of the Indian Gaming Act regarding that Regulatory Act of identified purpose? 1988. We have started Certainly our study by examin- measures could ing the dynamics exist. There are involved in the pas- health statistics, sage of that Act, and then highlighting the unemployment, income, housing adequacy, ostensible purposes of the Act. Those purposes and education statistics. But can they be used, are expressed in the preamble to (1) promote and how can they be used? Thus far we have “tribal economic development, (2) self-suffi- not come up with a positive answer. It appears ciency, and (3) strong tribal governments.” that information such as exists is not ordered Furthermore, the Act was intended to (4) in any way which allows effective analysis of “shield” the gaming activities from organized the impacts of the 1988 legislation. crime, and to assure that the tribes were the The best indicators of the condition of primary beneficiaries of the activity. the life of Native America appeared in the 1990 It is no easy task to assess whether or U.S. Census. In a sense these data can be used not any public policy decision has accom- as benchmarks for the time at which gaming plished its goals. We are finding, however, that was introduced under the provisions of the the task of assessing impacts is particularly an 1988 Act, however, we should certainly recog- arduous one regarding this particular piece of nize that some major gaming operations were legislation. How do we determine if economic William N. Thompson, Ph.D. is a professor of pub- lic administration at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and a development has taken place to some degree leading expert on casino gambling. This material was part of his of adequacy as a result of an Act? How do we Testimony to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission determine when self- sufficiency has occurred Hearing in Tempe, Arizona on July 30, 1998. Wisconsin Interest 5 already in place by the time the Act was of all Americans are in jeopardy when we pur- passed, albeit even these underwent major posely put information that is needed for good expansions after the Act. public policy decisions beyond the grasp of Before we can have a good sense of the Americans. It is not only the democracy of impacts of gaming we would have to have non-Natives that is endangered by this foolish comparable data for the years at the end of this policy, but it is also the democracy of tribal decade as well. We truly need accurately col- members across all of Native America. lected data on each reservation population for I have encountered examples of the each year on quality of life variables. Such data application of this policy of imposing purpose- is not collected across all Native populations. ful ignorance on America. When Ricardo Gazel Scattered data on specific populations is and I were asked to do an economic study of uneven in quality and has sufficient gaps as to Native Gaming in Wisconsin, we wished to render it almost meaningless for purposes of have a sense of how big the gambling estab- general analysis. lishment was in the state. Of course, the easiest But much more than that data on qual- mark of size would be the gaming revenues of ity of life indicators is needed as well. We need the casinos, but we figured these would be to know just how much gaming has been gen- beyond our reach. Instead we sought surrogate erated as a result of the provisions of the 1988 measures of gaming volume. We approached Act before we can really assess the impact of state officials who had the information on that gaming. Here the problem is much greater square footage, numbers of tables, machines, than that presented by the fact that the census and bingo seats. However we were told by data is decennial and not annual. The problem these state of Wisconsin officials—and this is is that the information is purposely hidden the state that includes one of the greatest from the public in a major breach of the philos- reform legacies in America—that we could not ophy of Freedom of Information, a philosophy be given this information (which they had) that has been thoroughly endorsed by almost because they had entered a Class III gaming every polity in the American public over the compact with the tribes of their thoroughly past four decades. And while information is open meetings and open records state which hidden, public officials continue to make poli- precluded any release to the public of such cy on Native American gaming, and public information. We had to find information inde- officials propose major changes in public poli- pendently through private sources, and from cy toward Native Americans. It is a travesty of that information make reasoned estimates of our democracy that any public officials should gaming revenues. be asked to make policy without good public Also our study floundered in early information. stages as many tribes refused to allow us to I am not faulting tribes for hiding interview players at or near facilities. We information as they seek the best fiscal results encountered the same problem in an Illinois (the greatest revenues) for their gaming opera- economics study, but there we could go to tions in a policy arena that is forced to accept edge of parking lots off property and conduct their interpretation of matters absent any good interviews. Such an approach would be some- contrary information. I do fault Congress for what harder with Native casinos as tribal facil- specifically exempting Native American gam- ities are often some distance within reservation ing from critical provisions of the landmark boundaries. We finally won cooperation of two Freedom of Information Act of 1966. It is espe- tribes which controlled three casinos, and we cially disturbing that the exemption was grant- conducted interviews allowing us to assess ed during the post-termination era when economic impacts of the casinos for the local Congress has sought to protect rights of Native communities and the state as a whole— America with more complete applications of impacts which were, by the way, found to be the U.S. Bill of Rights to tribal activities. The positive ones. protections of not only Native Americans but 6 Fall/Winter 1998 I do, however, have a real difficulty in He found the condition of life on American comprehending the reason for secrecy regard- reservations to be a national disgrace. He gave ing casino performances. The policy was a a report to the government. The government United States of America policy adopted by then published the report. What if that report the Congress of the United States. Every year would have been kept secret? Could the there have been attempts to amend I.G.R.A. Roosevelt administration have reversed the But the public is locked in ignorance. In state policies of allotment and termination without after state governors are asked to negotiate the force of that report? John Collier had both compacts on behalf of the full public. supporters and detractors among the Native However, the full public is precluded from community, but he instituted a philosophy of giving good advice to the governors, because concern and reform that has become a founda- they have inadequate information. In tion for many positive laws regarding Native California, the voters are actually being asked America that have been passed over the past to vote on a Class III compact for all the tribes four decades. A serious question can be asked: of the state. However, all the information they could Collier have changed the direction of will have on Native American gaming will national thinking from ignorance to sympathy come from the tribes. for the condition of There will be no opportu- Native peoples had the nity to have independent- Meriam report been kept ly gathered information secret? Imagine national on which they may base The critical factors that government leaders say- their decisions. ing all we have to fear is One Senator, differentiate the Native fear itself, therefore, any Slade Gorton of evidence that any of our Washington, is proposing gaming and the com- people are hurting shall that B.I.A. budgets for be suppressed. Think tribes with gaming be cut. mercial gaming are about leaders who might Tribes are asking for pub- reason that we are now in lic support to head off taxes and profits a world arena telling the these efforts. But the pub- Chinese that they are lic is locked in ignorance. “wrong” and they are This is simply not the mistreating their people, way public policy should therefore any evidence be made in the United that we are mistreating States. Is Gorton’s bill a good one or not? That any of our people should be suppressed—that can be debated. If the purpose of I.G.R.A. is it is in our international interests to do this. I really economic development and self suffi- think we as a citizenry would be outraged— ciency maybe Gorton’s bill is a good one, if we we should be outraged anyway.