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Yellow Bird: Time for smoke-free tribal casinos
Monday, August 27, 2007
Filed Under: Opinion

"A few weekends ago, I had the chance to visit two casinos in North Dakota Prairie Knights and Four Bears. In many cases, casinos and lodges on reservations have become the only lodging available if you're visiting, yet staying there can be a hazard to your health because heavy cigarette smoke can permeate an entire building.

There should be a concern for the casino employees, many of whom are American Indian people who spend eight hours a day, five days a week inhaling the toxins from secondhand smoke.

Some of the casinos don't allow smoking in their offices, while employees on the main floor must breathe those toxins day in and day out.

"When the floor is busy, it's really bad," one casino worker told me. Remember, this might be the only job opportunity available to her, and she has become somewhat accustomed to smoke. She is experiencing respiratory problems, she said.

Tribal councils and managers who oversee the casinos should remember that many of their customers are their own people, who also are being exposed to cancer-causing toxins."

Dorreen Yellow Bird: Smoke-free casinos would be good bet (The Grand Forks Herald 8/25)
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