Jordan Berg: Foxwoods Casino

While reading this article I think that several interesting things are pointed out. It talks about all the images inside and out of the casino and how they are negotiated in certain ways to help make the Pequots people wealthy. The whole reason that this casino was built was to help keep them alive and survive on what little they had left and I think that the Pequot people can choose to represent themselves however they want inside of their own casino. The book later says that they all the design work and representation had to pass through tribal meetings, which could be as long as 6 hours, before they could be put into action. So the tribe approved all of these designs because they thought it would be for their benefit to be portrayed in a certain way which would attract customers.

I don't agree with how the Indians lost all of their land and were forced to places that can be painful memories so I think for people to say that they are feeding off of the weak and addictions of the poor is not true at all. People who go to casinos know what they are risking and have money most of the time and this is the only way the Pequot Indians have found a way to survive after having everything taken from them. If it weren't for the casino what would these people have left? They might not have anything at all and just disappear and be forgotten if not for the casino. It may not be the best representation of the people but it is helping them succeed. Their slogan "Gaming In Its Natural State" can be interpreted many different ways but I think the book puts it best when it says "gaming takes on the meaning of the Pequot as hunter, as a warrior, and, most important, as a survivor." So the tribe is being survivors of what little they had left and making a huge profit from it.

Discussion Questions:

1) Do you think it is accurate to say that this casino feeds off the addictions of the poor and socially disadvantaged?

2) Where do you think they would be today without the casino?

3) Why do you think this casino has become the largest and wealthiest in the world?