Presented at the 6th International Gambling Conference in February 2016. Keynote address by Darrel Manitowabi

1. The Meaning of
Indigenous Casinos: An
Anishinaabe
Perspective
Darrel Manitowabi, PhD
Laurentian University
dmanitowabi@laurentian.ca
10 February 2016

2. Overview
Reflexive gambling
experience
North American Indigenous
Casinos & Gambling
Social, political, economic
& cultural context
Gambling before colonization
Colonized context of
Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous gambling in the
present
Objective: colonization as a
determinant in casino
research

3. Bingo Then and Now
Source: Wikipedia Commons 2010

4. Chi-Mookmonak
Source: Wikipedia Commons 2010

5. Indigenous Gambling
Culin (1992[1907]):
Indigenous gambling:
229 tribes, 36 games
2 types: guessing, dice
Ojibwa/Anishinaabe:
2 types: chance,
dexterity (Densmore
1979); E.g.:
Chance:
makizinataadiwin
“moccasin game”
Dexterity:
baagaadowewin
“lacrosse”
Anishinaabe Moccasin Game:
“an Indian will stake first his
gun; next his steel-traps; then
his implements of war; then
his clothing; and lastly, his
tobacco and pipe, leaving
him, as we say, ‘Nah-bah-
wan-yah-ze-yaid’; a piece of
cloth with a string around his
waist” (Copway 2001 [1850]:
48)

6. Maiden’s Ball Play
“Crowds rush to a given point as the ball is sent
flying through the air. None stop to narrate the
accidents that befal [sic] them, though they tumble
about to their no little discomfiture; they rise making
a loud noise, something between a laugh and a cry,
some limping behind the others, as the women
shout. ‘Ain goo’ is heard sounding like the notes of a
dove, of which it is no bad imitation. Worked
garters, mocassins [sic], leggings and vermilion are
generally at stake. Sometimes the chief of the
village sends a parcel before they commence, the
contents of which are to be distributed among the
maidens when the play is over” (Copway 2001: 50).

7. Colonized Context of
Indigenous Peoples
History: allies to obstacles
Treaties: land sessions (reserves CAN, reservations US)
E.g. Anishinaabe divided US/CAN (Belfry 2011)
Legacy of colonialism:
Power & control over Indigenous peoples
Transformation: marginalized economy, politics, religion
Consequence “culture of poverty” E.g. Frideres & Gadacz
(2001)
Post 1970s: decolonization/self-government
Political & economic change (Dickason & Newbigging
2010)
1990s neoliberal reforms: Indigenous casinos
(Manitowabi 2011)

8. Casino Rama, est. 1996
US: Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
(1988)
Tribal/State compacts (NIGC:
n.d.)
CAN: Criminal Code of Canada
(limited before 1969, 1985);
Provincial domain
Ontario First Nations casino,
influenced by US experience: share
all profits
Rama selected as site
Casino ownership:
1996-2011 “First Nations”
2011 new agreement
2011 Provincial (OLG)
Rama: lease, profit %

9. Gambling and
Neoliberalism
Indigenous Problem &
pathological gambling:
5x higher (CAN)
(Belanger 2014)
Indigenous gambling
“double-edged sword”:
1. Mechanism for
socioeconomic
development
2. Problem & pathological
gambling
“(People) are feeling more
secure, psychologically,
socially, there is now
disposable income. …There’s
gambling addiction, it is silent
but here. I see it, when I did
research, in the general
public, I see the same people
all the time… …became
severe gamblers. On the
positive side, it is a small
portion, I estimate 75% don’t
use the casino, 25 % use it.”

10. Ethnographic Insights
Community divisions over casino: those in
support, those against; initial period challenging,
transitional
Resistance: members confronted the casino
Framing: community zone; casino zone
Negotiating space: gamblers, entertainment,
restaurant
Imperialism: no community gambling, fundraising
Meeting place/capacity: local/regional FN
gatherings

11. Discussion and Conclusion
Indigenous peoples practiced pre-colonial gambling
Socially defined event, betting of material goods
Contemporary gambling has changed: state defined and controlled
Provincially-regulated
First Nations-Province Agreement
Social and economic context: neoliberal reforms
Colonization as a determinant in gambling research (c.f. Czyzweski
2011)
Historical context to Indigenous gambling
Limitations:
Case study, shifting environment of casinos/gambling
Social and cultural perspective, complement to gambling studies (Kingma
2010)

12. References
Belanger, Yale. 2014. Gambling. In, Journey to Healing: Aboriginal People with Addiction and Mental Health Issues, ed. P. Menzies and L. Lavallee,
pp: 273-284. Toronto: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Bellfy, Phi. 2011. Three Fires Unity: The Anishnaabeg of the Lake Huron Borderlands. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Campbell, Colin. 2009. Canadian Gambling Policies. In, Casino State: Legalized Gambling in Canada, ed J. Cosgrave and T. Klassen, pp: 69-90.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Copway, George. 2001 [1850]. The Traditional History and Characteristic Sketches of the Ojibway Nation. Toronto: Prospero Books.
Culin, Stewart. 1992 [1907]. Games of the North American Indians, in Two Volumes. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Czyzewski, Karina. 2011. Colonialism as a Broader Social Determinant of Health. The International Indigenous Policy Journal 2 (1).
http://irlibbu.uwo.ca/iiipj/vol 2/iss1/5
Densmore, Frances. 1979 [1985]. Chippewa Customs. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society.
Dickason, Olive and William Newbigging. 2010. A Concise History of First Nations, Second Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Frideres, James and Rene Gadacz. 2001. Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Contemporary Conflicts, Sixth Edition. Toronto: Prentice Hall.
Kingma, Sytze. 2010. Global Gambling: Cultural Perspectives on Gambling Organizations. New York: Routledge.
Manitowabi, Darrel. 2011. Casino Rama: First Nations Self-Determination, Neoliberal Solution, or Partial Middle Ground? In, First Nations Gaming
in Canada, ed. Y. Belanger, pp. 255-278. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press.
National Indian Gaming Commission. N.D. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. URL:
http://www.nigc.gov/Laws_Regulations/Indian_Gaming_Regulatory_Act.aspx#2703
Wikipedia Commons. 2010 URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/