Gambling and Native American Indians “is not a how-to course on gambling or how to beat the system,” said James Schaefer, research professor of anthropology,
describing the course he is offering this summer.
Rather, it is an exploration of the impacts of lucrative Native American gambling operations on both Native and non-Native communities, he said.
The Federal Gaming Act of 1988, which allowed tribes to enter into negotiation over gambling rights with state and Federal authorities, has caused an unprecedented explosion
in legalized gambling across New York state and the nation, Schaefer said. In Minnesota, where Schaefer has done extensive research on gambling, Native communities have built more than a dozen casinos since 1989, he said.
Schaefer said there are basically two models for distributing wealth from gambling within the Indian nations. Some have distributed the wealth on a per-capita basis while others have directed revenue into a central fund for infrastructure or education. At least one Indian nation has designated gambling proceeds for a college fund; any high school graduate can attend college entirely on Native funds provided they return to the community
for at least five years after college graduation.
Through field trips and interviews, students will learn about the struggles often associated with gambling: how Indian nations have tried to balance traditional values with visions of unimaginable wealth; the impact of gambling revenue on Native institutions,
infrastructures and values; and the socio-economic impacts in nearby non-Native businesses and communities.
The course will examine the dynamics of increasing compulsive gambling problems including responses of state governments in providing model programs for intervention, counseling, treatment and prevention, Schaefer said.
Students will hear contrasting views from the Oneida and Mohawk Nations of New York, and do a short field experience in a local legalized gambling activity or gambling recovery program.
The course also includes a field trip to the Oneida Nation's quot;Turning Stone” casino and meetings with proponents of Indian gambling and non-gambling “traditionalists.”
Schaefer has published a number of articles on the impacts of gambling, and a book on “pull tab” gambling. He was recently named to head a five-state study on the effectiveness of legislation aimed at curbing DWI.
Students interested in the course, which begins in June, may contact the Anthropology department.