The proceeds from the gaming operation have provided the Yavapai-Apache Nation with unprecedented income and the attendant benefits. The success of the enterprise has allowed the Nation to provide jobs, numerous services, and local benefits that would otherwise be unaffordable. While the benefits may be seen to outweigh the negative impacts, we must note that “hidden” impacts may also be present.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation has provided many economic benefits to its people since the establishment of Cliff Castle Casino. Prior to its opening, many of the tribal members were dependant on non-tribal government assistance or held low paying, dead end jobs. In the first four years after the casino opened, testimony before a Senate oversight committee by David LaSarte indicated that the casino employed over 750 people. Expenses from insurance, pensions, payroll and taxes exceeded $20 million in 1999. Any tribal members that are willing to work will have a job. All members employed by the tribe receive medical, dental, eye care, disability and life insurance. Members are provided with transportation for health related appointments, including those at the Indian Health Service in Phoenix. There is now a move to the practice of preventative medicine that insures a better system of health care for tribal members.

The Nation has established a corporate university to provide educational opportunities to tribal members and employees. A daycare center, owned and operated by the Nation, has been opened. Emergency loans are available to tribal members that provide up to $2,500 in the event of emergency. Housing has been upgraded, with more than 80% of reservation homes receiving some kind of remodeling. Homes of elderly and handicapped persons have been made handicap accessible.

Pages could be filled with the benefits that gaming has provided. Parks, infrastructure, tribal enterprise, police and fire protection is all provided. A non-state affiliated Tribal Court assists offenders with legal services and treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Children receive up to $450 per year for school supplies and clothing.

Programs have also benefited non-tribal causes. The Yavapai-Apache Nation donated two generators to the Hualapai Tribe for use in its dialysis machines. On Jan. 28, 2008 the Yavapai- Apache Tribal Council voted to donate $185,000 to five local communities and Yavapai County. Since 2000, the Yavapai-Apache Nation has awarded college scholarships to three, non-Indian graduating seniors, one from each of the Verde Valley High Schools.

The education of its tribal members in traditional culture also benefits. Traditional singing and dancing is now practiced again on the reservation. One of the few dances left from the Apache is the Sunrise Dance. It has been revived and was performed for the first time since 1947 after the establishment of gaming.

As mentioned above, a multi-paged document of the benefits could be written, but the accompanying problems are present also. The typical list of addiction, crime, and drug use are the usual ones mentioned. Gambling abuse and addiction and its offshoots are often brought up. This could result in a lack of proper childcare, funds to pay bills, and an overall depression. While the Yavapai-Apache Nation makes no statistics public, none of these effects have made the local papers in recent history.

A much deeper concern, not nearly as conspicuous, is rarely voiced. Many of the participants in Indian gaming are the Natives themselves. It would seem that the expenditure of what little funds are available to tribal members should be spent on gaming. The Yavapai-Apache Nation does not make distributions to individual tribal members. Time spent gambling may replace traditional social activities. Perhaps Native American values could be replaced with “materialism”. Domestic abuse and public corruption are ready companions to gaming. There may be a weakening of tribal culture and tribal values.

Wayne Taylor perhaps best voices an insight into this phenomenon on behalf of the Hopi people, who have rejected gaming. I would like to close with some quotes from his testimony before Congress.

“My name is Wayne Taylor, Chairman of the Hopi Tribe and on behalf of the Hopi people I want to express our appreciation to the study Commission for this opportunity to present my views on the impacts of Indian gaming on Indian people.

The Hopi view is, of course, the view of a non-gaming tribe. As many of you know, in 1995 the Hopi Tribe by a referendum vote rejected gaming as a means of revenue generation or economic development…. At the heart of this decision was a concern expressed by many of our people about the potential adverse effects of making gaming easily available to our people…

The effects of gaming activity on the entire tribal culture and society must also be considered. The impact on individual tribal members will always translate into impacts on the overall tribal culture. Indeed, it is not difficult to envision tribal gaming not only influencing but also becoming a significant part of tribal culture, perhaps even pushing aside in importance other characteristics of tribal culture that have long sustained us and which should be cultivated and nourished.

One of the most dangerous oxymorons currently floating around in non-Indian America and particularly in Congress is the idea of the so-called rich Indian tribe.

Somehow I have never associated the word “rich” with the words “Indian tribe”. Many members of the public and Congress seem very comfortable with this phrase. …Most of us continue to struggle merely to provide the most basic governmental services to our people, protect our lands and the environment and provide meaningful opportunities for growth and advancement of our people.

This is perhaps the most stinging impact of Indian tribal gaming on non-gaming tribes. While tribal gaming successes have provided no direct tangible benefits to non-gaming tribes, the non-gaming tribes, nevertheless, share the brunt of the congressional backlash and unfavorable public perception. All the negative characterizations typically associated with gaming activities such as compulsive addictive behavior, the search for the illusive something for nothing, the desire to get rich quick and the reaping of financial benefits at the hands of human behavior, these characteristics tend to spill over to effect all Indian tribes whether gaming or not.”

The ultimate negative effect of Indian gaming is not an individual doing drugs, or becoming addicted to gambling; it is the destruction of a culture, a people, a tribe. Nations may become corporate enterprises existent only to produce a profit. Is the donation of money to surrounding local communities for the betterment of the community itself? Or does support for the nearby Chamber of Commerce only provide a “beneficent” advertising opportunity? The purpose of tribal government may be changing. Producing a profit, as opposed to providing a rich cultural and comfortable life, may become the norm. That would be the worst negative consequence of all.”

The Navajo Nation could be the next Arizona tribe with a brand new casino. Is it the right decision?

Watching “The New Indian” is an experience of rebirth. A National Geographic film, this journey of four different paths ends in the same place. They, too, are connected. The fifth generation of the prophecy of Black Elk has arrived, and the 100-year-old vision is becoming real. The young people of the Natives have come full circle. The old people of the Natives have come full circle. The four seasons of earth, the four pages of life, the four journeys portrayed in the film, celebrate the life of the planet and its people; the death and the rebirth of the Native American are continuing as foretold.

“The New Indian” is an inspirational tribute to the cycle of life. It documents four journeys that show how the millennia’s old cycle continues. Youth from Chicago travel to find themselves. A sixty-something year old Indian celebrates his “chiefdom”. An artist/musician celebrates his culture in a new way. And an Anglo educated Native uses the Anglo way to get her people their culture back.

Leaving Chicago to join the intertribal encampment in Canada, nine youths set out to find themselves. Over two thousand Natives, from over 50 tribes gather to share the “old ways”, the stories, the myths, and the culture of North American Natives. Removed from their land and their culture, modern Natives have fallen into poverty. Lacking the appropriate training to survive in the white-man’s world, they have landed in the streets, suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and the lack of knowledge of themselves. These intrepid youth set out to find the thing that made their people great; their connectedness with the earth, the ability to survive inside. They erect a wigwam. They build the ceremonial center. They do things their ancestors did to survive. They build the sacred fire that endures day and night; they learn to build their lives. Many have realized that they are not on the right road, that the white man’s path is not their own. The elders are helping to show them the path, the way to “right living”, and they are more receptive than many others in the past.

Camping with their relatives, these youth touch the ancestral ways. A heavy and continual rain dampens spirits at the intertribal encampment, but they chose to stay. Entranced by their cultural heritage, they realize that mundane daily tasks take on a new significance. They cook meat from animals they watched die. They sense the connectedness of the animals and themselves. They learn that thanking the animal for its life is essential to the harmonious co-existence of both themselves and the other life on the planet.

The past comes alive for them. We watch as they sense the connection of all things; an essential teaching of their ancestors. They realize that they and their ancestors, relatives, and peoples have each other. That they are connected. That they are connected to the earth, the stars, and to “other worlds”.

It is truly a riveting part of the film to see these young people come alive to something new to them. Just as “reborn” Christians get touched on the head and find Christ, these youth see their past and their connection to it. All things are connected. They see their place. A time is told of a day when an Indian leadership will arise that will teach the world that there is another way, a better side of life. There is a way to live in harmony with all of creation. These young Natives found part of that. They left Chicago expecting little, and returned having found much. They learned that we are all one. Everything is connected.

Steven Tiger is a musician and an artist. He uses his talents to connect his Miccosukee people with the world of the white man. His young family lives in the white man’s world, while his father’s family retains their connection to the earth. The film portrays his attempt to integrate his life into both worlds. His father is afraid. He believes his son has lost touch with his ancestry. Traveling to the Everglades, the place where his ancestral people fled after they were removed from their homelands in the 1800’s, he visits his parents who continue to survive using the “old ways”. This visit provides us with a glimpse of how a culture survives; a family refusing to give up its culture for that of another. Steven’s father is suspicious; driving a car is not traveling like an Indian. But Steven, like his people, is striving to live in both worlds. The Miccosukee are educating their children to survive in the white man’s world, while teaching them to speak the native language. They instill the attitude that they want to make their own mistakes, find their own way, and live the life they hold precious. This is the fifth generation. They are integrating themselves into the white man’s ways, while finding themselves. Everything is becoming connected.

James Seaweed (spelling?), is a chief in his own time. The traits exhibited by all great leaders of the Native Americans are apparent in this man’s life. Wisdom, knowledge, and generosity abound. He volunteers his time, money, and knowledge to keep his people’s culture alive.

The Potlatch ceremony was an ancient tribal tradition. The white man forbade it when they arrived. Assimilation of his people was forced upon them and they were jailed if they were found to be performing its dances or songs. His people burned their ancient totems in fear. These were the crests of their clans. Dances that had survived for centuries became a crime. Original masks used during this ceremony were confiscated and destroyed. The white man thought they had subjugated these people; yet the ceremony continued in secrecy. Certain dances belonged to specific families and they were passed down from generation to generation even though they were forbidden to be practiced. In the 1960’s, James Seaweed held a Potlatch. Using $15,000 of his personal savings, this great leader allowed his people to rebirth their culture. He shared his wealth with the less fortunate of his people. The first communal longhouse of the 20^th century was built in 1965. His family performed its ancestral dance. He connected to his culture. He connected with his people. He kept the tradition alive. He espoused that it is not what you take from life, but it is what you give to it. He was connected. Everything is connected.

Claudine Arthur fights for her people. A white-man trained attorney, she uses the white man’s laws to protect her people’s way of life. As a Navajo in New Mexico, she deals with all kinds of problems. Domestic issues, criminal issues, and more mundane problems are the recurrent theme in her life as a legal assistance attorney. Yet there are times when she has the opportunity to make a more ethnocentric impact.

The Four Corners power plant is located on land leased from the Navajo Tribal Council. The council leased the land from Emma, a Navajo woman living a traditional life; she raised sheep, had no electricity, and honored the land. This woman has been paid $327.97 for this lease over the last twenty years and she has lost her way of life. Claudine came to her aid.

With no idea of what would happen to her land, Emma agreed with the Tribal Council to lease it in 1957. Soon fly ash coated her sheep. The water became polluted. Sulfur dioxide filled the air. Coal was strip-mined and the land lost its shape. The power plant provided millions of white people power, while less than one-in-three Navajo had lights. Less than one-in-five had indoor plumbing. The connection to the earth was disappearing.

Claudine Arthur immersed herself into the issue. After decades of abuse to the land of her ancestors, she made a case for her people. A new gasification plant was being proposed. It was time to fight back. The plant would require more coal, more water, and more land. Claudine pointed out that Navajo water rights had been disregarded for scores of decades. The reclamation projects had failed. The new plant would require a 60,000-person city to be built on Navajo land, with no promise of remuneration. She fought for her people and she won. There was no lease extension granted. The right of the Navajo to decide life for themselves was protected. Their connection to the earth was saved for another day.

These four stories of the “New Indian” are truly inspiring. Narrated by Robert Redford, this documentary shows us the rebirth of the Native culture. Individuals making a choice are making a difference. Health issues, educational issues, and economic issues are making their way to the forefront of Native American’s attention. These issues bring the Natives into the “new world”. People like Claudine Arthur, Carlos Nakai, and James Seaweed are making a difference. Indian gaming is making a difference. Education is making a difference. But most importantly, recognition of the validity of a culture nearly lost is making a difference.

Terry Sanders, co-writer and director of “The New Indians”, has done a wonderful job with his portrayal of the revival of Native American culture. The enigmatic journey of the Indian is intriguing. The producers, Frieda Lee Moch and Terry Sanders, chose tales of modern day Natives that show how important their culture is to them, and what they are willing to sacrifice to retain it. I would recommend this film to anyone interested in history, culture, or life. It limns the connectedness of the people, the earth, and the cosmos. The rise of Native American culture, and its resultant decline is a reflection of the four seasons. Birth, youth, maturity, and death. It is spring for Native culture. It is the time of rebirth. Now is the time that the young Natives rediscover their heritage, their ancestors, and their future. This film reminds us of this cycle; the four seasons, the four pages of life. Birth, youth, maturity, and death. This all repeats itself , and it has throughout human history. It reminds us that these things are connected. Everything is connected.

Photo New York Public Library

We ignore shared nuances, commonalities, and values. We attempt to make divisions where there are none, and emphasize differences that only make “Americans” diverse from one another. For most, white is “American”, and “others” are Mexican, Black, or Indian. It is rare that we residents of the United States refer to all of us as “America”.

Pre-historic Natives organized themselves as groups of people that lived together in small residential units. They might have lived together based on kinship, maybe shared ceremony, or perhaps shared values. The reasons they were living together, as a group is unimportant here; the fact that they lived together in a small group of 5-50 is important. There was no recognized leader. Whoever was the most knowledgeable for the immediate situation, led the group. There was no political structure. This may be called a rancheria. This was typical of nomadic, hunter-gatherer groups.

Some groups speaking the same language, or related by territory, or shared ceremony might join with each other in the matter of defense of their territory. They might band together to accomplish a repulsion of common enemies. They might join to arbitrate between individuals of the different groups who were having a dispute. They might become a band. They might begin to adopt similar dress, ceremony, and values. They would inter-marry. Families may move from one group to another, and a co-mingling of culture may occur. The might become a “political” unit. They might become a “band”.

There might be no strict political function of a band. One band may go join together with another band; their connection was tenuous. There was no central leader over collective bands. Sometimes two or more bands might choose to live together. Sometimes several families might leave one band and join another. They would join together as a matter of convenience or necessity, with no permanent tie that was observed.

The Spanish did not understand. This was not how peoples ruled or organized themselves. This was not the way the world existed. There was a strict hierarchy to be recognized. There was supposed to be a leader, and there were supposed to be followers. To their regret, their mere arrogance in this concept brought about the deaths of hundreds of their own.

Bands came together in defense of their common culture, land, and ritual. While initially receptive to the Spanish, bands of people might come together to remove the invaders from their territory because of shared abuse. Recognition of common language, ceremony, and tradition may have turned bands into tribes. Leaders of bands came together to form tribal councils. Political organization became more centralized. A unity of purpose may have united previously independent people.

While they had a shared language, it never made them one people under one leader. While they had shared ceremony, it never made them one people. While another culture defined them as one people, it never was so. Their commonality of purpose, of territory, and of survival, did. They became a tribe.

Time has passed and tribes have survived. They have joined together to make separate treaties with the “American” government. They realized their tribal identities. And this failed them. They recognized the need to coalesce.

They have melded their cultures to become one. As in the instance of the Pima, Papago, Akimel, Maricopa, and Hia C-ed, they have joined together to become one. The former tribes are now the Tohono O’Ohdam Nation. “Nation”, in “American” legalize, has come to describe a legal status. It is the interface that the Spanish imposed on the groups, then the bands, and finally, the tribes. It brought about a unification of all the tribes.

Tribes have come together now as Nations to set a new agenda for all Native peoples. Legislation has been passed in the U. S. Congress that applies to all Native Nations, including Seminole, Navajo, Hopi, and hundreds of others. Antiquities acts, restoration of lands, and rights to cultural remains have been recognized for all Native peoples.

Native Americans have just begun to realize themselves again. They have come to support one another as a people, as a Nation. They have a common agenda. They hire the same lobbyists. They each support each individual Nation across different languages, cultures, and territories.

They have evolved together as a “Nation”.

Yet “Americans” choose to see themselves as separate groups living in the same space. We are a still a conglomeration of bands and tribes (Anglos, African-Americans, Mexicans, Christians, Jews, Muslims and many others), as yet unable to organize ourselves into a coherent whole. Such divisions are superfluous. The Native Americans have learned this lesson. They have banded together. They have survived thousands of years. They are one Nation.

One day, perhaps, “Americans” can recreate this phenomenon. Perhaps we can set aside differences, distinctions, and divisions. Perhaps Irish, Mexican, and Jew can become one with Anglo, Christian, Black, and Muslim. Perhaps that self-recognition of “us”, a united force to exist as one with the earth and all other people, would herald an acknowledgement of recent history.

Perhaps one day our time will come.

Perhaps the “Spanish” will arrive one day, and we will truly become a Nation.

Let’s have a discussion; leave a comment.

At issue was the use of motorized water craft on the Colorado River. This was permitted in the 2006 implementation of the Colorado River Management Plan. Needless to say, a victory by the environmental groups would have put a heavy burden on dozens of rafting companies using motorized crafts for their Grand Canyon tours. While I understand the arguments, I believe these craft open the Canyon to thousands of people who would otherwise miss it. Not everyone has two weeks to float the canyon, and the motorized craft provide a much quicker trip.

A trip through the Grand Canyon on the river is a trip of a lifetime. If you haven’t done it, you should; it is a life changing experience. It truly makes you realize how small we really are, and how little impact we really have on the life of the planet. I feel that all we are doing that is now damaging Earth will not destroy it, we will simply make it uninhabitable for humans. It has been before, and will be again. San Antonio News article.

This is great news, and I whole heartedly support this move by the Navajo Nation. It will not only support environmental improvement, but also add much needed jobs to the reservation economy. More projects like this are sorely needed throughtout northern Arizona in order to protect our environment and invigorate our economies. Read more here.

The meeting is open to the public, but attendees will be limited to making brief comments at the end. Have spent 100′s of hours in the Grand Canyon, I can personally attest to the noise problem. It would seem to make sense, that overflights could be directed to areas of the canyon that are not already congested with tourists, allowing at least some sense of the natural environment undisturbed by planes and helicopters.  More information here. If you have had an experience with this issue, please leave a comment to open discussion!

This is great news for park enthusiasts. The government is stepping up and finally taking action to preserve our environment. There are currently old uranium mining claims near the canyon that have not been cleaned up. This presents a real danger to people, animals, and the environment in general. Read more about the announcement here.

This proposal will help contol the use of the river; a much needed extension to cover the entire Grand Canyon National Park. The uncontrolled use of the last 51 miles has led to people disregarding what most persons feel are simply rules of consideration. Trash, human waste, and uncontrolled fires have led to the desecration of this section of river. Over 30,000 people use the Colorado between Lee’s Ferry and the park’s western boundary. I’m all for limiting that use in order to preserve our beautiful natural wonder.