Although gambling has brought a new stream of income Wisconsin’s 11 Native American tribes have come to rely on over the last decade, the benefits of gaming have not been evenly distributed among the state’s tribes.
For some, such as the Ho-Chunk, Oneida and Potawatami, gaming has provided a primary supply of earnings. For others, gambling has not proven to be as lucrative.
“There’s a great difference in what tribes can afford,” Larry Nesper, assistant professor of anthropology said. “You have the Lac du Flambeau band in northern Wisconsin with per capita income of about $1,500 a year, while the Ho-Chunk gives its members $12,000 a year.”
Tribes in Wisconsin have to contend with limited markets in which to establish casinos, as certain areas of the state, notably in the north, lack a sufficient customer base to make casinos profitable.
“Location, location, location,” Nesper said. “The Ho-Chunk are near a good market [in Madison], the Potawatami in Milwaukee even better, the Oneida operate in Green Bay. But the other tribes are too isolated, so gaming is not as lucrative.”
For more isolated tribes the operation of a single profitable gambling facility has proven to be difficult.
“There is a disparity in terms of income among the tribes,” assistant history professor Ned Blackhawk said, noting the wealthier tribes signify those most involved in gaming.
Without gaming as a viable source of income, other tribes rely largely on state and federal agencies for employment, working in the postal service, schools, tourism or lumber harvesting. According to Blackhawk, these tribes have traditionally been among the most impoverished groups of people in the United States.
“The whole concept of per-capita income has emerged only recently for certain tribes, like the Oneida,” Blackhawk said, adding before the arrival of casino revenue, the Oneida devoted all income to providing services, such as schools and roads, instead of dividing earnings into personal income.
Gaming started in Wisconsin in the early 1990s when tribes, which are recognized by the federal government as semi-sovereign political entities, came to the “realization” there is no federal law banning casino gambling, according to Blackhawk.
While there is a law banning the operation of casino gambling in Wisconsin, the state law does not apply to the tribes, since they fall under federal, and not state, jurisdiction. Tribes proceeded to reach agreements with the state to establish casinos throughout Wisconsin.
The benefits from the operation of casinos have been two-fold for the tribes: increased income has led to improvements in education, health care and housing, and more political clout has resulted in more political agreements with the state.
In search of more income, tribes have increasingly sought to build casinos in urban areas. The Ho-Chunk had planned to turn their DeJope Bingo facility on Madison’s east side into a full-fledged casino until Dane County voters voiced their opposition in last week’s referendum.
