Opinion: Tribal casinos will overrun rural America

Thursday, September 24, 2009  

"Every working day I receive fifteen to twenty emails of newspaper articles from around the country regarding issues having to do with tribal casinos. There are a whole host of different things happening around the country, some of which are more related to the area of the country and others which are pretty common to all of these type of casino and their impact on the surrounding community. It is interesting to see the different ways that local governments have dealt with the issues including not doing anything at all.

In Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs are trying to build a casino in the Columbia Gorge. In Oklahoma the Osage Nation is trying to exempt members from state income taxes and the Creek Nation is trying to put two parcels in trust despite opposition from the City of Tulsa. There are 38 tribes in Oklahoma and some serious impacts to their tax revenue.

In Arizona there are 22 casinos in that state posing a major loss of tax revenue as well. In California the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians have finished their draft Environmental Impact Report on the $1.5 billion San Francisco Bay resort. As usual they cite job creation and promised revenue for the Point Molate peninsula.

I mention these topics not to point a finger at anyone specifically but to point out that there are anywhere from ten to twenty newspaper articles from across the country five days a week, every week all year long. It has occurred to me that some legislator needs to screw up their courage, be a diplomatic as possible and start making noises about how this entire system must be revamped before rural America is overrun with traffic, crime and a loss of resources such as water to “visitors”. This is only one part of the picture that rural communities face in protecting their way of life that includes producing food and other important items for their urban cousins."

Get the Story:
Nancy Crawford-Hall: Casino news [second item] (The Santa Ynez Valley Journal 9/24)