Native Circle
Issues
Pet Peeeeeeeeves!
The media & Indian casinos
The big media's new definition
of
"Indians on the warpath"....
CASINOS
I watched a news show
recently which did a segment on
the possible opening
of a new Indian casino. I could not
believe what I heard.
It quickly became apparent to me
that the media in
this country today is a direct descendant
of the American media
of the 1800's when it addresses a
topic relating to
American Indians. The big media moguls
are most definetly
the 'mouth' of the U.S. propaganda
machine. In
the 1800's, the papers were filled with images
and stories of 'bloodthirsty
savages' and 'red Indian devils'
terrorizing innocent,
pure-hearted white folks. This is not
something I am fabricating,
I have researched these old
papers, read their
jaded articles and seen their shocking
'cartoons' of hideous
looking so-called 'red devils'. It is no
wonder the common
citizens of the time were absolutely
terrified of Indian
people! Well, in todays times, when
Indians make the news,
it is often because of a casino.
As this national newscast
aired its piece on an Indian
casino somewhere in
the east, it was hard not to notice
that it was the Indians
who were the 'enemy' threatening
to take back their
land and 'ruin the neighborhood' with a
casino. Oddly
similar in spirit to many of the newspaper
articles I have read
about 'Indians on the warpath' in old
1800's American papers.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
If I had a dollar for
every time someone asked me if I get
money from a casino
because I'm an Indian, I'd be a very
rich Indian!
I am aware that there are a few casinos that
do send checks to
the people who belong to their nation,
but they are definetly
in the minority. Most Indians I know
do not get checks
from an Indian casino. So the silly idea
about Indians getting
money from a casino appears to
have been born of
the media's curious tendency to focus
on the few that do.
Just thought you'd like to know.......
Written by John Two-Hawks
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