The key issue in the recent crackdown on American Indian casinos is the sovereignty of the tribes themselves. Yet, American Indian gaming now faces a crisis that threatens to severely limit gambling operations, thereby sending many American Indians back on welfare. While a third of all tribes involved in the gaming industry have not achieved the same financial success, there is no denying that this new business has created thousands of jobs-over 15,000 in California alone-and has given rise to investment in cultural programs, scholarships, schools, and language revival on the reservations.
Since Indian gaming was approved by Congress and President Reagan ten years ago, many tribes have flourished into bustling cash centers, bringing in more than $6 billion a year in total revenue. From poverty stricken ghettos to prosperous enterprises, American Indian reservations have been transformed in recent years by the stampede of the `new buffalo'-the lucrative gambling operations on American Indian land.
