TIM GIAGO Navajo Nation ready to roll dice

A new gaming culture is arising in Indian country
If an election were held today on Indian reservations like the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to rescind or retain casino-style gaming, what would be the outcome?
The mighty Navajo Nation is teetering on the brink of approving casino gaming on its lands after watching legislation geared to its approval go down to defeat in the past two elections. There are rumors around the Hopi Nation that casino gambling will be on the ballot soon.
Will the powerful spiritual leaders of the Hopi prevail against it once more?
The scent of greenbacks has had an intoxicating effect upon the leaders of the many Indian nations of this country. But some of the traditional leaders are looking at the impact of gaming from the pinnacle of 16 years and they are beginning to analyze its impact upon their people.
The announcement by the National Labor Relations Board that union organizers can now penetrate the heretofore sacred sanctity of the Indian nations is disturbing news. There are tribal members working in the Indian casinos who would welcome the unions simply because it would mean better wages and benefits, or so the union leaders will tell them.
Strike
But suppose that after unionization the tribe finds itself in conflict with the union. This leaves the door wide open for the union to call for a strike. A strike would shut down the casino operations of the tribe and cost them countless dollars in income. If they are totally dependent upon that casino income it will be disastrous.
The euphoria of Indian casinos has begun to diminish after nearly 17 years. The problems encountered were not those projected by the naysayers. Organized crime did not gain a foothold in Indian country as was predicted by state governments, nor did overall criminal acts jump in huge numbers.
What has happened is that there is a new culture arising in Indian country. It is a culture that has existed in Las Vegas, Reno and in New Jersey since gaming became a legalized business. And now it is spreading across America.
When I worked at Harrah's Club in Reno many years ago, I was a part of that culture. It is one that views customers as "them" and the casino workers as "us." We (the casino workers) learned to strongly distrust "them."
It is a culture that, after many years, loses the respect for the almighty dollar and looks upon it as just so much paper. When I worked in the pit as a croupier, oftentimes our table divided tips that gave each of us more than $1,000 for a single night's work. Most of the time I took the tip next door to Harold's Club and lost it forthright. To me, and I am afraid, to my fellow casino workers, it was just so much play money.
Strangely enough, after I stopped working at the casino, I have never had the urge to gamble again. This is not the case in Indian country. Many tribes are now fighting to overcome the gambling addiction of their tribal members and especially the addiction of those who work in the casinos. This is a portion of the Indian gaming legend that is kept behind closed doors.
Suspects
After many classroom lessons while working at Harrah's on how to spot cheaters, everyone becomes suspect. Night after night we would watch for those cheating at the 21 tables or at the slot machines, or even on the dice tables where I toiled. The methods employed were often ingenious. Where there is an abundance of money, there are those who will try to find a way to pull it into their own pockets.
One cannot help but develop a feeling of paranoia about the customers frequenting the casinos. And this can overflow into one's personal life. As casino workers we formed a clique that further separated us from the general public. The odd rotating hours of day, swing and night shifts served to further separate us from the norm.
The question I hear more often than not these days by the casino workers themselves is, "Why would I want to make a career out of working in a casino?" Many are looking for something better and are simply using the job at the casino as a holding pattern until something better comes along. It is hard to build a solid foundation on shifting sands.
X Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the Lakota and Pueblo Journals. He is author of "The Aboriginal Sin" and "Notes from Indian Country" volumes I and II. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.