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New and Possible
Maps: The Political Clout of Indian Nations
By Katherine A. Spilde,
Ph.D.
Director of Research, National Indian Gaming Association
The newfound political clout of Indian Nations has forever altered the landscape
of American politics at both the national and local level. Indian Nations are
not simply participating in the American political process, but changing it.
While the public interest in Indian Nation political participation has focused
on campaign contributions or the sums of money spent on Propositions 5 and 1A
in California, those issues are only a small piece of their political project.
The more influential arenas of Indian Nation's political engagement are closer
to home, on Indian reservations and their surrounding communities.
Indian Nations are building political clout by investing in local communities
and being generous with their neighbors and employees. Through a combination
of outreach projects ranging from education and charitable contributions to public
relations and community investment, Indian Nation governments are increasing
their influence with state and federal legislators by first befriending their
constituents. Indian Nation governments are building a solid foundation of public
support by sharing their good fortune and making life better for both their own
communities and for their neighbors, who show their appreciation in newspaper
editorials and at the ballot box.
Indian Nations are simultaneously expressing and increasing their political clout
by correcting centuries of misunderstanding and misinformation about tribal histories,
tribal cultures and tribal governments. Through education and public relations
efforts both locally and nationally, Indian Nations are investing in campaigns
to clarify for the American public the fact that Indian Nation governmental gaming
is an exercise of Indian Nation sovereignty and self-reliance. This massive public
drive to counter centuries of negative Indian stereotyping has played a major
role in creating a solid foundation of support for Indian Nation governments
and businesses. By educating contemporary Americans about tribal histories and
tribal governments, Indian Nations are building a generation of informed, educated
and mindful Americans who can carry the message to their children and, ultimately,
the next generation of leaders.
Alternative routes to power
It is assumed that in American politics the route to political power is paved
with cash. Simply put, money buys access to power. Campaign contributions are
therefore assumed to be a meaningful measure of political engagement since money
is considered the primary language of power. Contrary to popular stereotypes,
Indian Nations are not major players in national political campaigns. According
to the Center for Responsive Politics, gaming interests were not even among the
top ten miscellaneous business contributors. Out of 216 tribal governments with
some form of gaming, only one Indian Nation with governmental gaming was among
the top 20 business contributors.
Analyzing the campaign contributions made by Indian Nations does not adequately
capture the increased role of Indian Nations in the political process, however.
The fact is that Indian Nations are investing in communities rather than candidates.
They are building relationships rather than financial war chests.
Good neighbors
Indian Nation governments use gaming revenues to invest in schools, roads, emergency
services, health care facilities, nursing homes and local charities. Many tribal
members serve on city and county school boards or chambers of commerce. Indian
Nations support local law enforcement and finance small business development.
Many of these community projects are on or near reservations, serving Indian
and non-Indian communities alike. Indian businesses are now major employers,
often providing jobs in areas of historically high unemployment.
Being a good neighbor and a good employer is not an overtly political act for
Indian Nation governments. But a consequence of the generosity of Indian Nations
is that communities near Indian casinos know first-hand the benefits of Indian
gaming and become powerful allies. Because Indian neighbors benefit from Indian
casinos, a vote for Indian gaming becomes a vote for their own livelihood.
By focusing on local communities, Indian Nation governments are creating a new
political model in which investing in people pays off politically. This type
of political participation creates a truly "win-win" situation. Indian nation
political engagement is a significant departure from the "old way" of gaining
power in American politics. By building lasting personal relationships in addition
to simply political ones, Indian Nations are forever altering the route to political
power.
Power of self-definition
It has been said that the only true power is the power of self-definition. For
centuries, Indian governments and Indian communities have struggled to educate
a hostile American public about their histories, cultures and political rights.
Rather than engage with contemporary Native people, a stereotypical image of "the
Indian" has served as both a backdrop and a justification for harmful political
policies regarding Indian nations. For example, describing traditional tribal
cultures as "backward" justified Federal assimilation policies. Casting Indian
people as "savage" justified numerous Indian wars. At the time of IGRA's passage,
the false stereotype of Indian Nation government gaming as a magnet for organized
crime was used to justify state and federal oversight of Indian gaming in spite
of the Cabazon decision, which reaffirmed that gaming jurisdiction was
retained by Indian Nation governments. Tribal governments quickly realized that
in order to participate fully in the American political system they would have
to take control of both their own image and that of Indian governmental gaming.
Perhaps the most dramatic examples of Indian Nation self-definition were the
Proposition 5 and Proposition 1A campaigns in California in 1998 and 2000. Unifying
around a common theme (and against a common enemy) Indian Nation governments
in California waged a massive public relations campaign that directly countered
the historically inaccurate perceptions of Indian Nations and Indian governmental
gaming. Indian Nation governments in California shaped the debate about Indian
governmental gaming as one founded on tribal self-reliance rather than on gaming
rights. Therefore, a vote for Indian Nation governmental gaming became a vote
for the quintessentially American values of hard work, self respect and improved
quality of life. This message resonated with over 63% of California voters, whose
support for Indian Nations continues into the present.
The overwhelming public support for Propositions 5 and 1A measured more than
support for gaming; it reflected the direct impact that Indian Nation generosity
and Indian businesses have on the lives of the majority of Californians. And
it validated the decision by tribes to focus on people rather than politicians,
to invest in children rather than campaigns. Proposition 5 was a visible confirmation
of Indian Nation political clout, and one repeated on a smaller scale in most
other states with Indian Nation governmental gaming.
Indian Nation governmental gaming is unique
Indian governmental gaming is unique because, unlike other gambling industries,
it fits both a conservative and a liberal agenda. National support for Indian
Nation governmental gaming transcends political lines because Indian gaming is
not simply an "Indian issue" nor is it simply another form of gaming. Bi-partisanship
is one of the principal strengths of tribal governments as well as of national
organizations who serve them, such ss the National Indian Gaming Association.
According to polls, Americans on both sides of the political aisle support Indian
Nation governmental gaming, although for very different reasons. For example,
Republican men support Indian gaming because they perceive it as a vehicle for
getting Indian people off welfare, whereas Republican women support Indian gaming
because it increases the accountability of tribes in the operation of their own
businesses. Democratic men, on the other hand, are able to support Indian governmental
gaming because they want the federal government to "leave the Indians alone",
while Democratic women focus on the ways that Indian governmental gaming revenues
improve the quality of life on Indian reservations.
Backlash: A struggle for image control
As Indian Nation political clout has increased, a backlash against Indian Nations
has emerged from many sides. Given the unique sources of Indian Nation political
clout, this backlash takes two predictable forms: governmental interference in
Indian Nation gaming and anti-Indian stereotyping. Legislation to amend the 1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act appears every session in the United States Congress.
In the last year alone, Congress proposed 153 bills affecting Indian Nations,
with 19 of those directly addressing Indian governmental gaming. Individual states
target Indian Nation gaming revenues in class III tribe-state compact negotiations,
asking tribes to "revenue share" even when it violates the federal Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act. Governors block fee-to-trust transfers for landless Indian Nations
by arguing that the Nation may later try to put up casinos.
Opponents of Indian Nation governmental gaming have not limited their attacks
to legislative initiatives or legal foot-dragging, however. Commercial interests
and anti-gambling crusaders realize that targeting tribal governmental resources
does little to undermine their other source of power, which rests in their relationships
to local communities and their powers of self-definition. Indian governmental
gaming opponents understand that self-definition is one of the foundations of
tribal political power. In a campaign of negative stereotypes and innuendo, Indian
governmental gaming opponents have attempted to re-claim the power of defining
Indian people and Indian issues in order to undermine the public support so successfully
cultivated by Indian Nations.
The most popular and effective backlash against Indian Nations and Indian people
has been the campaign to define tribal governments as rich and savvy interest
groups that are buying their way into the American political system. By framing
attacks on Indian governmental gaming in economic terms, Indian governmental
gaming opponents are able to accomplish a number of harmful ends. First, the
opponents of Indian governmental gaming believe that the perception that tribal
people are now "rich" from governmental gaming will both undermine public support
for Indian programs and fuel public resentment against Indian businesses. Focusing
on Indian governmental gaming revenues is an attempt to equate Indian governmental
gaming with other forms of gaming and implies that all gambling industries are
spending their revenues in similar ways. Of course, Indian Nation governments
argue that they are more likely to invest in schools than in yachts. The characterization
of Indian Nations with gaming as wealthy "players" erases the fact that Indian
governmental gaming is an expression of Indian Nation sovereignty and benefits
Indian communities and their neighbors, not commercial interests or individual
investors. Second, by implying that Indian Nations are "rich", the opponents
of Indian governmental gaming justify their attacks on other Indian Nation resources
by arguing that tribes no longer "need" their treaty rights or tribal homelands
now that they have gaming. Finally, the attempt to cast Indian Nations as "just
another wealthy interest group" disregards their dual sources of political power:
tribal sovereignty and the support of the majority of the American people.
Conclusion
In spite of the backlash against Indian governmental gaming, Indian Nations continue
to restructure the landscape of American political and public life. They will
continue to occupy the political and economic space they have so successfully
mapped for themselves and continue to alter the playing field. This occupation
is a culmination of centuries of political engagement and represents the pinnacle
of self-determination and Indian Nation autonomy. Just as the Inuit literally
redrew the map of Canada in 1999 by forcing the creation of the new province
Nunuvut, Indian Nation governments in the United States are re-drawing the political
map of the United States, one neighbor at a time.
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Copyright © 2000-2008
National Indian Gaming Association, All rights reserved •