Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

American Indian Women Report on the Community Impact of a Tribal Casino

  • Published:
Race and Social Problems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This qualitative study of the community impact of a Midwest American Indian casino examined semi-structured interview data (N = 20) from American Indian women. Results indicate that the opening of the tribal casino has provided opportunities for intergroup contact to occur resulting in improved relations between Indians on the reservation and those who are not Indian from surrounding communities. These improved relations are positively affecting the relationships that develop between the members of the communities. The findings highlight the need for social workers to examine the impact of intergroup contact that is naturally occurring in tribal casino communities and develop interventions that can assist in reducing stereotypes and prejudices.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, B. L. (1989). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, B. L. (2004). Qualitative research analysis for the social sciences (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergen, T. J. (2001). The development of prejudice in children. Education, 122(1), 154–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, S. (2006). Community partnerships benefits St. Regis Mohawks. Indian Country Today, 26(25), A6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, D., & Lapsley, H. (2003). The social costs and benefits of gambling: An introduction to the economic issue. Journal of Gambling Studies, 19(2), 123–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Contreras, K. S. (2006). Cultivating new opportunities: Tribal government gaming on the Pechanga Reservation. American Behavioral Scientist, 50(3), 315–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornell, S., Kalt, J., Krepps, M., & Taylor, J. (1998). American Indian gaming policy and its socio-economic effects. A Report to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. Cambridge, MA: The Economics Resource Group, Inc.

  • Dixey, R. (1996). Bingo in Britain: An analysis of gender and class. In J. McMillen (Ed.), Gambling cultures (pp. 136–151). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairbank, J., Maslin, R., & Maullin, R. (2007). Indian gaming national survey. A Report to the National Indian Gaming Association. Oakland, CA: Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, & Associates: Opinion Research and Public Policy Analysis.

  • Gannett News Service. (2007). Retrieved February 21, 2009, from http://www.richardallenjohnson.com/some_key_gambling_statistics.html.

  • Gibson, D. (2007). Indian gaming: A rising tide lifts all boats. Native Peoples, 20(4), 48–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, Z., & McNutt, D. (2001). From enemies to allies: Native Americans and Whites join forces in Wisconsin. ColorLines (April). Retrieved May 15, 2007 from http://www.ncmonline.com/content/ncm/2001/april/05/fromenemies.html.

  • Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. (1988) 25 U.S.C Sec. 2702 (1).

  • Janes, P. L., & Collison, J. (2004). Community leader perceptions of the social and economic impacts of Indian gaming. UNLV Gaming & Review Journal, 8(1), 13–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korn, D. A., & Shaffer, H. J. (1999). Gambling and the health of the public: Adopting a public health perspective. Journal of Gambling Studies, 15, 289–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the flesh. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin, S., Van Laar, C., & Sidanius, J. (2003). The effects of in-group and out-group friendship on ethnic attitudes in college: A longitudinal study. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 6, 76–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 6–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNeilly, D. P., & Burke, W. J. (2001). Casino gambling as a social activity of older adults. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 52(1), 19–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melmer, D. (1998). Oneida successes rooted in tradition. Indian Country Today, 18(25), A7–A10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Momper, S. L., & Jackson, A. P. (2007). Maternal gambling, parenting, and child behavioral functioning in Native American families. Social Work Research, 31(4), 199–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, S. M., & Ohtsuka, K. (1998). Control over gambling: Solution or problem? In G. Coman, B. Evans, & R. Wooton (Eds.), Responsible gambling: A future winner. Proceedings of the 8th National Association for Gambling Studies Conference, Melbourne, 1997 (pp. 259–267). Adelaide, Australia: The National Association for Gambling Studies.

  • National Indian gaming Association. (2006). The economic impact of Indian gaming in 2006. Retrieved fromhttp://www.indiangaming.org/library/articles/the-economic-development-journey.shtml May 17, 2007.

  • Peroff, N. C. (2001). Indian gaming, tribal sovereignty, and American Indian tribes as complex adaptive systems. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 25(3), 143–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petry, N. M. (2005). Pathological gambling: Etiology, comorbidity, and treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 65–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plas, J. M., & Lewis, S. E. (1996). Environmental factors and sense of community in a planned town. American Journal of Community Psychology, 24(1), 109–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards, L. (1999). Data alive! The thinking behind NVivo. Qualitative Health Research, 9(3), 88–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spears, D. L., & Boger, C. A. (2003). Residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards Native American gaming (NAG) in Kansas: Demographics, policies, and future development. UNLV Gaming Research and Review Journal, 7(2), 13–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. B., & Kalt, J. P. (2005). American Indians on reservations: A databook of socioeconomic change between 1990 and 2000 censuses. Cambridge, MA: The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, Malcolm Weiner Center for Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

  • Taylor, J. B., Krepps, M. B., & Wang, P. (2000). The national evidence on the socioeconomic impacts of American Indian gaming on non-Indian communities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, Malcolm Weiner Center for Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

  • Towles-Schwen, T., & Fazio, R. H. (2001). On the origins of racial attitudes: Correlates of childhood experiences. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 162–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevorrow, K., & Moore, S. (1998). The association between loneliness, social isolation and women’s electronic gaming machine gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 14(3), 263–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tropp, L. R., & Pettigrew, T. F. (2005). Relationships between intergroup contact and prejudice among minority and majority status groups. American Psychological Society, 16(12), 951–957.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tutty, L. M., Rothery, R. M., & Grinnell, J. R. (1996). Analyzing your data: Qualitative research for social workers. Calgary: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau (1990). Retrieved February 20, 2009, from American Factfinder; http://factfinder.census.gov.

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2000). Retrieved June 15, 2009, from American Factfinder; http://factfinder.census.gov.

  • Vander Bilt, J., Dodge, H. H., Pandav, R., Shaffer, H. J., & Ganguli, M. (2004). Gambling participation and social support among older adults: A longitudinal community study. Journal of Gambling Studies, 20(4), 373–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardman, D., El-Guebaly, N., & Hodgins, D. (2001). Aboriginal problem and pathological gambling: A review of the literature. Unpublished manuscript, University of Calgary Alberta, Canada.

  • Wright, S. C., Van der Zande, C., Ropp, S. A., Tropp, L. R., Young, K., Zanna, M., & Aron, A. (2004). Cross group friendships can reduce prejudice: Experimental evidence of a causal direction. Unpublished manuscript, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Colombia.

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to say thank you (Miigwetch) to tribal participants for their willingness to participate in the study. The project described was assisted by grants to the first author from the Newberry Library, the National Institute of Mental Health (grant no. 1R36 MH071136-01A1), and in part by the University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center-NIDA (grant no. T32DA007267-11A1). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH, UMSARC, or NIDA.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, 1080 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Sandra L. Momper & Mary Kate Dennis

Authors
  1. Sandra L. Momper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mary Kate Dennis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra L. Momper.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Momper, S.L., Dennis, M.K. American Indian Women Report on the Community Impact of a Tribal Casino. Race Soc Probl 2, 59–68 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-010-9027-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-010-9027-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation