Any tribal gaming or business operation must filter their objectives in a respectful way through those traditional tribal concerns and fears.īut on the other hand, the purpose of any casino operation is to take full economic advantage of the trust relationship with the federal government that allows tribes to operate independent of state interference and restriction. They speak to every tribe from the ancestral heart of who the people are, and where they have come from, and where the tribe is headed. Traditional concerns about the cultural and spiritual welfare of the people are not radical concepts. Many traditional people don’t want the tribe tearing up the land to mine resources or chop down timber, and this same activist mindset opposes business development that appears to prey on the vulnerability of tribal members, such as alcohol sales. These cultural standards are often diametric perceptions of what is right and proper when it comes to establishing the foundations of a sound reservation economy, an economy that will provide jobs, security, and rebuild and maintain tribal infrastructure. A flyer paid for by the Casino Alcohol Referendum Committee encourages voters of the Oglala Sioux Tribe to approve a referendum authorizing alcohol sales at gaming establishments on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.Įvery reservation economy is trapped between two cultures.
