I am not opposed to Indian casinos. Nor am I morally opposed to
gambling. While reading the latest epistle from Bill Jones, two
thoughts went through my mind. The first was that I would like a
swig of whatever it is he’s drinking.
I am not opposed to Indian casinos. Nor am I morally opposed to gambling. While reading the latest epistle from Bill Jones, two thoughts went through my mind. The first was that I would like a swig of whatever it is he’s drinking.

His overuse of bold capital letters on randomly chosen words is both annoying and intriguing. I eagerly await his discovery of the exclamation point. My other thought was that the name Bill Jones doesn’t sound Native American to me. I’m guessing that Bill Jones is fulfilling that most pitiful of roles: guilty white apologist.

In his latest rambling, I found one tidbit that I do agree with. There is actually some anti-Indian attitude in America. However, all the prejudicial “Indian” remarks which I have overheard are not directed at Native Americans. I have heard racial slurs which target people who are Indian (as in India; the country located next to Pakistan). Only 1 percent of the people who live in California identify themselves as Native American. Most of these Native people are not living in poverty. If there were “so many” starving Native Americans, imagine how many other people must have been starving all around us. Most of the nearly 15 percent of Californians who live in poverty are Hispanic, African American or non-Hispanic white people. Most of these people aren’t starving, just poor. I think that Bill may have overstated this problem.

Who are the Euro-Californians? If that means me, I must protest on behalf of “my people.” I don’t like the idea of anybody living in poverty, including – but not limited to – Native Americans. I never thought that Native Americans were invisible here, but I admit I didn’t especially notice them. I freely admit that I am a terrible guesser when it comes to ethnic or racial backgrounds. I have lived in places with much larger Native American populations than this area. Maybe Native Americans just blend in pretty much like everyone else.

While the enslavement of Natives was indeed a crime, it is no worse than the enslavement of any other humans. Bill Jones is concerned about the selling of Native Americans 150 years ago. I am a little more agitated about the number of minors being sold into slavery today.

As a group, Native Americans are no better or worse than any other group. But Bill Jones is being revisionist when he talks about Native American non-violence. Bloody battles between various Native tribes are well documented. Does that violence matter? Is the violence somehow worse simply because it was later perpetrated by Spanish and other Euro-Americans?

I have sympathy for the Native people; they were certainly marginalized by our government. But I also have sympathy for all of the immigrant groups who arrived here and were treated just as harshly because they did not speak the language. I have sympathy for those Africans brought here as slaves against their will. Why shouldn’t descendants of slaves have the right to open a casino? I have sympathy for the Irish who were forced to work in coal mines because their lives were thought to be expendable. Are their descendants casino-worthy?

Long after we should have learned from our mistakes, our government enslaved Americans of Japanese descent. If ever a group deserved reparations in the form of casino rights, it would be these Americans.

I don’t feel very strongly one way or the other about the casino issue. But it is absolute nonsense to attack anyone who questions the integrity of Indian gaming. A very small population of people is eligible to run this type of enterprise, and there are enormous amounts of money being generated.

Almost all of the casino profit is coming from outside of the tribal community. I am guessing that the folks involved in the daily operations of these casinos are spending very little time “struggling to maintain an identity.”

If that were the case, they wouldn’t have enough time to lure the non-Native 99 percent of the people living in this state to come and gamble with them. There is nothing in “Native” history or culture that cultivated the powerful special interest lobbying effort we have seen over the past few months. Indian gaming is just big business; it’s the ultimate American pursuit. It will be sad if “Indian gaming” is the legacy which Native Americans leave for their children.

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