The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and Its Effects on American Indian Economic Development

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), passed by the US Congress in 1988, was a watershed in the history of policymaking directed toward reservation-resident American Indians. IGRA set the stage for tribal government-owned gaming facilities. It also shaped how this new industry would develop and how tribal governments would invest gaming revenues. Since then, Indian gaming has approached commercial, state-licensed gaming in total revenues. Gaming operations have had a far-reaching and transformative effect on American Indian reservations and their economies. Specifically, Indian gaming has allowed marked improvements in several important dimensions of reservation life. For the first time, some tribal governments have moved to fiscal independence. Native nations have invested gaming revenues in their economies and societies, often with dramatic effect.

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Public Heritage Communication on American Indian Wars Sites: Policy Improvement and Remaining Challenges

Journal of Heritage Management ◽

10.1177/2455929617738455 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 152-168

Author(s):

Hyojung Cho ◽

Ernest Gendron

Keyword(s):

American Indian ◽

American Indians ◽

Military History ◽

Policy Improvement ◽

Indian Wars ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

The Us ◽

Us Government ◽

History Of ◽

The Government

Federal historic preservation is an important way to provide public recognition and to promote heritage that was selected by the government for the nation. The history of (American) Indian policies shows an arduous relationship between the US government and American Indians. In spite of the evolution of federal preservation efforts and the federal government’s public heritage communication, Indian heritage sites still reflect the authoritarian and utilitarian understanding towards the Indian heritage. This research studies the US federal government’s understanding of Indian Wars sites through the analysis of interpretation at the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, which reveals the historically dual approaches towards Indian heritage conservation and the persistent tendency of limited under-standing for American history in the larger social and political arenas despite policy improvement. American Indian battlefields have been neglected in orthodox preservation considering their insufficient value to qualify for patriotic military history preservation or Indian relics preservation. The analysis of preservation efforts and interpretation of Indian Wars sites indicates the evolution of controlling (American) Indian heritage through policy changes and the assessment of policy implementation.

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Segregation and American Indian Reservations

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197528778.013.11 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tennille Larzelere Marley

Keyword(s):

American Indian ◽

Ethnic Groups ◽

American Indians ◽

Residential Segregation ◽

The Body ◽

Racial Residential Segregation ◽

Indian Reservations ◽

American Indian Reservations ◽

Indian Nations ◽

Racial Ethnic

Racial residential segregation is a key feature of the social organization of American society, and is also a fundamental cause of racial inequality. The body of literature on racial residential segregation and its effects on African Americans is expansive, and it is growing for other racial/ethnic groups as well. However, missing from the literature are American Indians. American Indian reservations are prime examples of racial residential segregation. This chapter strives to answer key questions: How is the racial residential segregation of American Indians different from that for other racial/ethnic groups? How can American Indian nations address issues on their reservations that result from segregation? What processes drove the segregation of American Indians onto reservations? American Indian nations are in a unique position to address the effects of racial residential segregation in ways that other racial/ethnic groups cannot. That is because American Indian reservations, despite segregation, are a place of healing.

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Reservation Lands as a Protective Social Factor: An Analysis of Psychological Distress among Two American Indian Tribes

Socius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World ◽

10.1177/2378023118807022 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 237802311880702

Author(s):

Kimberly R. Huyser ◽

Ronald J. Angel ◽

Janette Beals ◽

James H. Cox ◽

Robert A. Hummer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Psychological Distress ◽

American Indian ◽

American Indians ◽

Life Experience ◽

Social Factor ◽

Indian Reservations ◽

Lower Odds ◽

Indian Tribes ◽

American Indian Reservations ◽

The Relationship

The unique physical, cultural, and ecological location of U.S. American Indian reservations simultaneously presents risks for mental health and offers sources of resilience to Native peoples. Using survey data from two American Indian tribes, we explore whether the length of one’s life spent on a reservation is associated with lower odds of psychological distress. In both tribes, we find that individuals who live a vast majority of their lives on the reservation have lower odds of psychological distress than individuals who spent portions of their life off or near the reservation. These findings suggest a need to reframe the perception of life experience on tribal reservations but also call for a more nuanced investigation of the life experience of American Indians. This study illustrates the importance of deeply exploring the relationship that American Indians have with their tribal reservation lands.

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Secured Transactions Laws and Economic Development on American Indian Reservations

AEA Papers and Proceedings ◽

10.1257/pandp.20211102 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 248-252

Author(s):

Christian Dippel ◽

Donna Feir ◽

Bryan Leonard ◽

Marc Roark

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Native American ◽

American Indian ◽

Tribal Sovereignty ◽

Indian Reservations ◽

Essential Ingredient ◽

Secured Transactions ◽

Tribal Governments ◽

American Indian Reservations

Harmonized commercial laws are considered an essential ingredient to commerce and trade and have been called the backbone of American commerce. Key components of these laws are those governing secured transactions. In recent years, Native American tribal governments have moved to adopt commercial codes to increase economic development on their reservations, but many have modified these codes to address challenges to tribal sovereignty and culture. This paper compares reservations that adopted modified secured transaction acts to reservations that adopted uniform laws. We demonstrate that reservations can potentially experience substantial economic gains from either form of adoption.

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