"A recent story in the online magazine Salon.com described the casino owned by the United Auburn Indian Community near Sacramento, Calif.

The story's author, Peter Byrnes, describes the mismanagement of this Indian casino in a way that suggests that the same thing applies nationally. For example, sexual harassment issues and employee abuse were pushed under the blackjack tables in that casino, Byrnes writes.

But when you compare the Auburn tribe's Thunder Valley Casino with a local one, you find big differences. Thunder Valley was built, paid for and controlled by "the boys from Vegas," the article says. The casino resembles Las Vegas-style gaming houses. There are 2,700 video-slot machines, 98 gaming tables, a fancy steakhouse, a 500-seat buffet room and a Starbucks and a Fatburger available for customers, Byrnes writes.

The article says only 25 percent of casino employees are American Indian. That isn't true on the reservations in this region.

The comparison is wrong.

All reservations in our area have tribal courts. If there isn't a satisfactory outcome for the employee from the court, that employee would have the option of going to the regional court.

It's not a perfect system. There are problems, but our local Plains tribes' casinos are not Las Vegas-style, where there sometimes are questionable elements."

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Don't expect Vegas glitz in local casinos (The Grand Forks Herald 1/21)

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