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Consult Books
Gary C. Anders. “Indian Gaming Financial and Regulatory Issues” in Contemporary Native American Political Issues, ed. Troy R. Johnson, 1999. Anders, an economist, provides a brief history of Indian gaming and discusses taxation issues and revenue distribution.
Grant Arndt. “Ho-Chunk ‘Indian Powwows’ of the Early Twentieth Century,” in Powwow, eds. Clyde Ellis, Luke Eric Lassiter, Gary H. Dunham, 2005. The author provides a history of Ho-Chunk dance gatherings and their work as entertainers in the tourist market.
Jessica R. Cattelino, High Stakes, 2008. Anthropologist Cattelino explores the ways that Seminole gaming (and casino capitalism) expresses and supports cultural distinctiveness and political goals. This discussion of the relationship between Seminole sovereignty and gaming is informative about Indian gaming elsewhere, including the Great Lakes region.
Eve Darian-Smith. New Capitalists, 2004. Anthropologist Darian-Smith makes the argument that Indian communities have developed their own brand of capitalism and explores the negative attitudes of majority Americans toward Indian economic development and casinos in particular.
Frank Ettawageshik. “My Father’s Business,” in Unpacking Culture, ed. Ruth B. Phillips and Christopher B. Steiner, 1999. This is a well-written account of Ottawa production of art for the tourist market in Michigan from the late 19th century to the present.
Donald L. Fixico. The Invasion of Indian Country in the Twentieth Century, 1998. Historian Fixico discusses the tension between tribal ways of life and federal policies regarding the exploitation of natural resources, and he examines strategies Native Americans use to defend their resources, including litigation over treaty rights. One of his case studies is the Ojibwas’ struggle to protect their hunting and fishing rights.
Brian C. Hosmer. American Indians in the Marketplace, 1999. This book includes a good study of how the Menominee tried to gain control over their forest resources, logging, and the production of lumber on the reservation during 1870-1920. Historian Hosmer shows how the Menominee combined a commitment to commercial logging with community values that supported the use of tribal resources for the benefit of the entire community, not merely individuals who worked in the logging business.
Brian Hosmer and Colleen O’Neill, eds. Native Pathways: American Indian Culture and Economic Development in the 20th Century, 2004. The editors of this collection of articles argue that Native Americans have developed alternative paths of economic change and that Native culture shapes capitalist incorporation of Native communities, influencing the nature of wage work and production for the market. Native people are neither doomed to poverty nor unable to incorporate capitalism into established cultural practices. Articles deal with casinos, commercial art, and wage work, as well as the concept of tribal capitalism.
Matthew B. Krepps, “Can Tribes Manage their Own Resources?” in What Can Tribes Do?, eds. Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt, 1992. This economist studied the effects of tribes contracting to manage forestry operations on their reservations. He found that as tribal control increased relative to Bureau of Indian Affairs control, worker productivity rose, costs declined, income improved, and the price for reservation logs increased.
Steven Andrew Light and Kathryn R. L. Rand. Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty, 2005. This book is largely about Indian gaming, but it has an excellent discussion of economic development in general.
Alice Littlefield, “Indian Education and the World of Work in Michigan, 1893-1933,” in Native Americans and Wage Labor, eds. Alice Littlefield and Martha C. Knack, 1996. Anthropologist Littlefield discusses how the education provided in Indian boarding school trained boys for farming and girls for housekeeping, but ultimately prepared them for menial, low paying jobs.
James M. McClurken. Gah-Baeh-Jhagwah-Buk: The Way It Happened, 1991. This is an overview of the history of the Little Traverse Bay Ottawas with many photographs and considerable information about economic life.
James M. McClurken. “Wage Labor in Two Michigan Ottawa Communities,” in Native Americans and Wage Labor, eds. Alice Littlefield and Martha C. Knack, 1996. Anthropologist McClurken compares the economic opportunities of Ottawas in the northwestern and southern parts of Michigan.
Lucy Eldersveld Murphy. A Gathering of Rivers, 2000. This is an excellent study of the contributions of Indians, Métis, and Americans to the regional economy of the western Great Lakes area. Historian Murphy discusses the role of Indian women in mining and the impact of American settlement on the regional economy.
Larry Nesper, The Walleye War, 2002. Anthropologist Nesper discusses how state efforts to control hunting and fishing affected the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwa and how they dealt with this challenge before they won their treaty rights in court.
Chantal Norrgard. “From Berries to Orchards: Tracing the History of Berrying and Economic Transformation among Lake Superior Ojibwe.” in American Indian Quarterly 33, 2009. The author discusses the history and importance of commercial berry picking, and argues that this kind of labor enabled the perpetuation of Ojibwe values.
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. Diba Jimooyung: Telling Our Story, 2005. This book contains an excellent account of the allotment of Isabella Reservation and the subsequent loss of the land.
Susan Sleeper-Smith. Indian Women and French Men, 2001. Historian Sleeper-Smith discusses trade in the Great Lakes region, especially food production for the market.
Ronald L. Trosper, “Traditional Indian Economic Policy,” in Contemporary Native American Political Issues, ed. Troy R. Johnson, 1999. Anthropologist Trosper discusses how the Menominee used the courts to force the Bureau of Indian Affairs to adhere to tribal standards of sustained-yield management. He argues that Menominee priniciples of forest management are a unique type of economic development: retain a large stock of older trees, support all species, protect the environment for future generations (the “Seventh Generation” philosophy).
Thomas Vennum, Jr. Wild Rice and the Ojibway People, 1988. This is a thoroughly researched study of Ojibwa ricing, including the history of non-Indian involvement in the commercial sale of wild rice. The author discusses the mechanization of ricing and legal efforts to regulate ricing in the Great Lakes area.
David E. Wilkins. American Indian Politics and the American Political System, 2002. Political scientist Wilkins clearly explains the doctrine of tribal sovereignty and how it applies to United States Indian policy in general, including taxation. There also are sections on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and economic development in general.
View Videos
The Indian Country TV website offers video clips that feature tribally-owned businesses and economic activity in general.
“The Rush for Grey Gold,” 1998. Produced by Dave Erickson, Ootek Productions and Wisconsin Public Television (from the How Wisconsin Began series). This is 118 minutes and comes with a study guide. The program focuses on the 1820s rush of lead miners into southwest Wisconsin, eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois, weaving together accounts of miners, Native peoples, frontier women, soldiers, politicians, and travel writers.
“Since 1634: In the Wake of Nicolet,” 1993. Produced by Dave Erickson, Ootek Productions (with Alan Caldwell, Menominee, and Lance Tallmadge, Ho-Chunk, co-producers). This program is 86 minutes and comes with a study guide. The first segment contains reenactments of Jean Nicolet’s landing at Green Bay in Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) and Menominee country and details the introduction of new diseases and the loss of land. The second segment looks at U. S. policies toward the Menominee and Winnebago in the twentieth century, and the third part describes how these tribes are undergoing an economic and cultural resurgence.
“Thunder in the Dells,” 1992 (29 mi.). Produced by Dave Erickson and Lance Tallmadge, Ootek Productions. This program focuses on the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) and their efforts to remain in Wisconsin. It uses archival footage to show their participation in the tourist industry and interviews to explain how gaming has helped with economic and cultural resurgence.
Use Online Sources
American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin
http://www.aiccw.org/
This organization seeks to promote economic development in Wisconsin Indian country.
American Indian entrepreneurs will find the information about seminars, scholarships, internships, and jobs useful. The general public can search the Wisconsin American Indian business directory to see the variety of Indian-owned and -operated businesses in Wisconsin.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
American Indian Population and Labor Force Report, 2005
http://www.bia.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/text/idc-001719.pdf
The report provides information on the Midwest tribes, including tribal enrollment totals, age distribution, and employment/unemployment statistics.
Indian Country TV
http://www.indiancountrytv.com/
Indian Country TV is associated with the Indian-owned and reservation-based (Lac Courte Oreilles, WI) newspaper, News From Indian Country. Though the newspaper and Indian Country TV cover Indian issues all over North America, many of the stories involve Midwestern Indian tribes. The website offers a digital media player on which you can watch live streaming programming. You can also watch programs “on demand,” including video clips from the Lac Courte Oreilles/Great Lakes Regional TV channel.
Michigan Gaming Control Board
http://www.michigan.gov/mgcb/
This governmental agency provides information on statewide gaming. If you click on “About Native American Casinos” you can read tribal-state gaming compacts and statistics that demonstrate the economic impact of Indian gaming. This site also provides a map of Native American casinos in Michigan.
Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce
http://www.maicc.org/
This organization facilitates and promotes American Indian businesses in Minnesota. The website provides a list of community events, a newsletter, and a business directory.
Minnesota Indian Gaming Association
http://www.mnindiangaming.com/
The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) provides clear information about the legal basis for and the statewide economic impact of Indian gaming. The “Current News” section offers information on individual tribes engaged in the gaming industry as well as links to national news stories involving Indian gaming. The “Test Your Indian Issues IQ” section is a great way to become acquainted with the issues and facts of Indian gaming.
National Congress of American Indians
http://www.ncai.org/Gaming-Compacts.103.0.html
On this site you can read the tribal-state compact for every tribe in the United States involved in Indian gaming, including the tribes of the Great Lakes region.
National Indian Gaming Association
www.indiangaming.org
The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) is a non-profit organization that provides information for tribes, policymakers, and the public on Indian gaming issues and tribal economic and community development. On this site you can find recent Federal legislative activity involving Indian gaming, as well as detailed reports and statistics relating to the tribes engaged in the Indian gaming industry. The site also provides a brief informational video featuring Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman of NIGA and an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, as well as a series of video clips titled “Window to Our Ways,” that features Robert Chicks, the President of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.
NIGA – Indian Casino Directory
http://indiancasinodirectory.org/
This page provides an interactive map that allows you to click on a state and see the location and contact information for any casino in the United States.
National Indian Gaming Commission
http://www.nigc.gov/Gaming_Revenue_Reports.aspx
The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States established as a result of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988. The site provides a calendar of events and offers a “Laws and Regulations” section where you can read important legislation such as IGRA and the Johnson Act. The second link above provides gaming revenue reports.
Wisconsin Division of Gaming
http://www.doa.state.wi.us/section.asp?linkid=117&locid=7
On this governmental website you can read tribal-state compacts and see a map that shows the location of all casinos in Wisconsin. This site also provides recent statistics that show the economic impact of Indian gaming in Wisconsin.