Opinion: Narragansett Tribe screwed by state

Thursday, November 15, 2007  

"Well, you all drank the Kool-Aid.

The Narragansett tribe hasn't always been under the best management, but they have been completely screwed over by the government of Rhode Island. Then, sometime last year, they actually had a chance to overturn the previous laws and join the long list of Native American tribes with casinos. Moreover, there was an opportunity to create hundreds of new jobs and a lot of new revenue for Rhode Island.

That was when the trouble started. Groups were popping up- SOS: Save Our State at the forefront- that didn't want the tribe to have their own casino. They began publishing fuzzy equations showing financial harm. They attacked Narragansett Chief Matthew Thomas and their casino project backers Harrah's (not unjustifiably in some cases, though it didn't relate to this particular proposal). They even started holding seminars stating untrue "facts" about how casinos hurt the surrounding economy. Amazingly, enough people bought it that the casino proposal was voted down in last year's elections.

I was surprised and a little ashamed of our state. The worst part was something that I found out later from the Boston Globe. I found out just who was behind Save Our State."

Get the Story:
Adam D. Bram: The Narragansett Casino (The Anchor 11/13)