The moral dilemma of high stakes gambling in Native communities
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Date
1997-09-09
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Laurentian University
Abstract
In Canada today, Native people grapple with an
increasingly bleak economy. According to Statistics Canada,
only forty-three per cent of Aboriginal people have jobs;
whereas, the employment average for other Canadians is
sixty-one per cent. The Canadian average annual income is
$24,876 but Native Canadians receive $16,560 per annum.
Eight per cent of mainstream Canadians receive social
assistance; twenty-nine per cent of Natives do (Fisher 16).
This perpetual marginalization has spurred many First
Nations communities to pursue commercial gaming as a source
of economic salvation. In this paper I will examine the
legacy of gambling in Native culture and the ethical
dilemmas facing bands who attempt to use gaming operations
as a solution to economic ills.
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Keywords
Gambling--Canada, Gambling--Native Canadians, Gaming--Economics, Gambling--Cultural issues, Gambling--Social issues, First Nations--Canada, Canada--Native communities